


Gaea Academy

by bluedynamite



Category: VIXX
Genre: Alternate Universe, Attempt at Humor, Drama, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-23
Updated: 2017-03-05
Packaged: 2018-08-10 15:11:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 20,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7849957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluedynamite/pseuds/bluedynamite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On Wonshik's first day at Gaea Academy, he had accidentally set his favorite snapback on fire while talking to a rather attractive upperclassman. He then proceeded to—accidentally, mind you—set fire to the upperclassman's shirt.<br/>One could say that Wonshik had gotten hot and bothered.<br/>And that the upperclassman was literally smoking.</p>
<p> *cross-posted on my AFF account of the same name*</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Gaea Academy Student Files

Name: Cha Hakyeon*  
Sex: Male  
Birthday: June 30, 1998  
Known Powers:  
Intangibility  
Invisibility**  
Control over others' body movements, hair color, eye color***  
Healing****  
Hydrokinesis  
Immediate Family: N/A  
*In care of GA since October 2003. Disowned/abandoned from biological family.  
**If in contact with another person, can also make that person invisible.  
***Can also alter his own hair and eye colors.  
****Feels pain while healing, but does not sustain injury.

Name: Jung Taekwoon*  
Sex: Male  
Birthday: November 10, 1998  
Known Powers:  
Psychometry**  
Communication with animals  
Feline shapeshifting  
Thought projection***  
Heightened sense of smell, sight, hearing  
Immediate Family: N/A  
*In care of GA since November 1998. Left at doorstep of Headmaster Lee Hongwoo.  
**When in contact with a person, involuntarily sees recent events or facts of that person.  
***Can only project thoughts to others, not read others' thoughts.

Name: Lee Jaehwan  
Sex: Male  
Birthday: April 6, 1999  
Known Powers:  
Mood manipulation  
Echolocation*  
Ability to learn any language instantly  
Persuasion or "Charmspeak"  
Botanokinesis**  
Immediate Family:  
Mother: Lee Eunjung  
Father: Lee Jaesook***  
Older brother: Lee Jaebum****  
Older brother: Lee Eunwoo  
*Produces sound from his mouth.  
**Has only displayed ability to manipulate, not grow, plants.  
***Younger brother of Headmaster Lee Hongwoo.  
****Current post-secondary student at Gaea Academy.

Name: Kim Wonshik*  
Sex: Male  
Birthday: February 15, 2000  
Known Powers:  
Pyrokinesis  
Immediate Family:  
Mother: Kim Jiyu**  
Father: Kim Minjun***  
Younger sister: Kim Chaewon***  
*Entered GA at the (late) age of 16. Powers are very unstable.  
**Never attended GA. Known power: (weak) photokinesis.  
***No known powers.

Name: Lee Hongbin  
Sex: Male  
Birthday: September 29, 2000  
Known Powers:  
Enhanced reflexes and speed  
Armor/metal skin  
Foresight*  
Photographic memory  
Immediate Family:  
Mother: Lee Haeun  
Father: Lee Hongwoo**  
Older sister: Lee Jieun***  
Older sister: Lee Eunju  
*Can see only immediate future.  
**Current headmaster of GA.  
***Current PE teacher at GA.

Name: Han Sanghyuk  
Sex: Male  
Birthday: July 5, 2001  
Known Powers:  
Energy "Vampirism"*  
Teleportation  
Flight  
Aerokinesis  
Immediate Family:  
Mother: Han Mikyung**  
Father: Han Donghyun**  
Older sister: Han Yujin**  
*Once "source" is unconscious, can no longer draw energy from "source".  
**No known powers.


	2. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get a glimpse into their pasts.

Hakyeon was five years and three days old when he fell through the floor of his bedroom onto the couch a flight down.

 

Hakyeon was barely aware of the change in scenery until he felt the soft cushions under his feet. He lost his balance and wobbled before falling over onto his butt. He was not sure exactly what he had just done, but it brought great amusement to him.

 

“Umma! Appa! Look! Look! I just went from my room to the couch! Isn’t that so cool?” Hakyeon babbled endlessly, happiness rolling off of him in waves.

 

Meanwhile, his parents were speechless in fear.

 

Hakyeon was five years and a month old when he disappeared from the dining table in the middle of breakfast.

 

His older siblings all stared in awe at the empty seat Hakyeon had occupied. His nineteen year old brother and seventeen year old sister knew exactly what Hakyeon’s disappearance meant; his nine year old sister curiously swatted at the empty air above Hakyeon’s seat.

 

“Ow!” Hakyeon cried, flickering back into view. “Why’d you do that for?”

 

His eldest brother could only muster up a weak “oh no”.

 

His parents were speechless in shock.

 

Hakyeon was five years and four months old when his parents found him in a flooded bathroom.

 

His hair was a light, greyish blue, and his eyes were a bright, fluorescent green. His arms waved enthusiastically through the air, water sloshing and swirling around him. He looked like an ethereal merman, surrounded completely in his element; joy radiated from his features, making the whole room seem to glow. Water flowed in ribbons around him, forming great sea snakes and sharks and dragons. The water was an extension of Hakyeon.

 

“Umma! Appa!” Hakyeon wiggled his fingers and stomped his feet in glee. “Look at this! Look at this! The water is moving! I’m making the water move!”

 

His parents were speechless in hatred.

 

Hakyeon was five years, four months, and two days old when his parents left him on a one-way bus and never looked back.

 

* * *

 

Taekwoon was six hours old when he was left at the doorstep of Lee Hongwoo.

 

Hongwoo had just stepped out to go pick up a new bottle of soy sauce when he almost squashed an unassuming bundle placed haphazardly on his porch. Taekwoon was wrapped snugly in a ratty yellow cloth; a pair of shocking yellow eyes peered up at Hongwoo from under the dim porch lighting. Hongwoo rubbed his eyes once, twice, thrice before kneeling down besides the baby.

 

“Haeun, Jaesook, Eunjung, come out here,” Hongwoo called back through the open doorway. Hongwoo saw, through his peripheral vision, his wife Haeun hurry to join him. His younger brother, Jaesook, and his sister-in-law, Eunjung, soon followed.

 

“Someone’s left a werecreature at our doorstep,” Hongwoo explained, cradling Taekwoon in his arms. Haeun gasped softly and settled down next to Hongwoo.

 

“What will we do?” Haeun asked as she gazed softly at the baby. Anyone could tell that he was fresh out of the womb; still, he was so quiet, so behaved, that it seemed as if he knew precisely why he was in the arms of strangers rather than his parents.

 

Hongwoo took one good, long look at Taekwoon. He noticed a small note sticking out from the folds of the cloth and took it carefully. “His name is Jung Taekwoon, the note says.” Hongwoo squinted at the hastily written note. “It just says: Jung Taekwoon. Please.”

 

“He’ll make a great playmate for our little one,” commented Eunjung, rubbing her hand fondly across her early-second-trimester belly. Jaesook smiled at his wife and then gave his brother an expectant look.

 

Hongwoo gave in. “We’ll take care of him until he’s old enough to stay at the Academy nursery.”

 

Haeun beamed.

 

* * *

 

Jaehwan was two years old when he first convinced Taekwoon to wear a daisy crown.

 

It was a rare day wherein Jaehwan was over at Taekwoon’s house—or, rather, his temporary home—for a nice lunch. Taekwoon had just turned three, and it was a cause for celebration; Hongbin, as well, had turned one just two months prior. Jaehwan and Taekwoon were playing in the backyard while the adults cooed over Hongbin’s unsteady, stumbling first steps.

 

Jaehwan was picking delicate daisies and placing them slyly in Taekwoon’s hair; Taekwoon, while eating a piece of bread, growled at Jaehwan. Jaehwan just giggled.

 

“Stop that.” Taekwoon swatted at Jaehwan’s grabby hands. “No!”

 

Jaehwan pouted and tears pooled at his eyes at Taekwoon’s shout. “Why?” His bottom lip trembled.

 

Taekwoon froze; he really did not mean to make Jaehwan cry. He encircled his arms around Jaehwan’s shaking figure and murmured comforting toddler words to him. Jaehwan quickly calmed down.

 

“Thank,” Jaehwan paused to collect his thoughts, “you.” A brilliant smile spread across his face.

 

A few minutes later, Taekwoon, once again, could not handle the daisies littering his hair. He snarled at Jaehwan and knocked the two year old to the ground. “Stop that! I don’t like it!”

 

Jaehwan’s tears came forth faster this time, accompanied by choked pleas. “Please! Let me!”

 

An hour later, Haeun came outside, carrying Hongbin, to find a disgruntled Taekwoon wearing a daisy hat and a mirthful Jaehwan picking flowers from the grass.

 

* * *

 

Wonshik was sixteen years and three months old when he woke up in a bed of flames.

 

He didn’t feel like he was engulfed in fire—but the acrid smoking of his sheets told him that he was. The smoke detector above his head beeped wildly before the sprinklers released water; the fire died, and Wonshik was soaked to the bone. He blinked sleepiness from his eyes and stared incredulously at his ashen bedsheets.

 

Moments later, his parents came running in. “What happened?” his father cried, “Why did the smoke alarm go off?”

 

“I don’t know!” Wonshik looked at his parents in fear. “I just woke up, and the first thing I see is my bed on fire!”

 

His mother noticed the blackened sheets and the rumbled, but otherwise fine, sleepwear. “Oh, honey… I think Wonshik has powers.”

 

“Powers?”

 

“Like...you know how I can do the light thing?” Wonshik’s mother produced a small, flickering ball of light in her palm. “I think he has something like that.”

 

Wonshik’s eyes widened at the sight of his mother’s light sphere. “What the heck? Umma, I never knew you could do that!”

 

“You used to ask me to do it all the time.” She closed her hand, and the light disappeared. “But, when you got older, you stopped asking me to do it. I guess you forgot that I could.”

 

Wonshik rubbed his tiredly. “What’re we going to do?”

 

His mother chuckled softly. “I guess I’m going to need to call my mom. You probably inherited her fire powers.” She paused to think for a moment before continuing. “Oh...Wonshik...honey… You’ll probably need to transfer schools. I never had to go to this school because my powers are so weak, but if you really just set your whole bed on fire…”

 

“Transfer schools?” Wonshik was aghast. “But I… I have friends and a girlfriend here…”

 

“No reason why you can’t keep in touch with them,” his father pointed out. “Though… you’ll have to be careful not to reveal too much. A lot of normals—”

 

“The politically correct term is “Edes”, dear.”

 

“Right. Edes. They don’t usually like superhumans—er, Baets— very much.”

 

Wonshik felt as if his whole world had been flipped upside down.

 

* * *

 

Hongbin was three years old when he saw Hakyeon standing outside the gates of Gaea Academy.

 

He blinked. The vision of the sad-eyed boy vanished before being replaced by the actual sad-eyed boy walking up to the gates of Gaea Academy. Hongbin could not find it in himself to move, and he stayed there, staring. After what seemed like hours Taekwoon came up and rubbed his furry face against Hongbin’s legs. Hongbin absently ran his fingers over Taekwoon’s sleek black fur, not once letting his eyes leave those of the boy outside the gates.

 

“Hongbin! Why are you still out—oh my, who do we have here?” Hongwoo came running from the administrative office of the school. He quickly gave Hakyeon a once over before allowing the small, shivering boy in.

 

“What’s your name?” Hongwoo placed a comforting hand on Hakyeon’s quivering shoulder.

 

“Cha Hakyeon,” the boy whispered. “I’m five.”

 

Hongwoo nodded. “Why are you here? Are you lost?”

 

Hakyeon took a great shuddering breath before answering. “Umma and appa left me on a bus,” he explained, his eyes flickering from brown to green to blue to purple, “driver didn’t wanna take me back. Don’t think umma and appa want me back.” Hakyeon’s eyes settled on a deep ocean color as tears streamed steadily down his cheeks.

 

“Don’t worry, you can stay with us,” Hongwoo assured the young boy. Hakyeon nodded and flicked his tears away; the water stayed in the air for a few seconds before falling to the earth.

 

“Thank you so much.”

 

Hongbin could only think, “I guess I have another older brother.”

 

* * *

 

Sanghyuk was nine years and eleven months old when he teleported from the living room to the kitchen in the blink of an eye.

 

“What the…” his older sister, Yujin, who had been right beside him in the living room, looked frantically around for him. “Where’d you go?”

 

“I’m in the kitchen!” Sanghyuk called back. “I don’t know how I got here, but I’m here!”

 

Just as Yujin was about to walk to the kitchen, Sanghyuk popped back into the living room. He blinked several times before a grin broke out across his face. “Cool!” He disappeared from view again. Yujin heard his voice shouting the same thing from various places: “I’m here!”

 

Finally, after Sanghyuk had taken several tours around his house, he poofed back into the living room. He panted a bit from exhaustion and fell back onto the sofa. “Oh man, that was fun, but I’m so tired…” Sanghyuk yawned and looked at his sister. “I’m so cool. Can you do that?”

 

Yujin, suddenly, felt unexplainably tired. “No… I don’t think so.” She slumped onto the sofa besides Sanghyuk, who was starting to look more energized. “I’m going to take a nap.”

 

When Yujin woke up, Sanghyuk and their parents were sitting on the living floor. Sanghyuk was leaning against of sofa while their parents looked at their laptop screen. From her place on the sofa, Yujin could see the website header: Gaea Academy for Baets and Magical Creatures.

 

“I’m going to bed,” Sanghyuk told them before disappearing from the living room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried out something new with the first sentence being ages, so I hope it worked :) Also, in case it wasn't clear: "Ede" is the term used to describe a person who doesn't have powers, and "Baet" is the term used to describe a person with powers.


	3. Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wonshik moves into Gaea Academy.

“Bye, umma. Bye, appa. Bye, Chae-ie.” Wonshik hugged his parents and his younger sister one last time before picking his suitcase up off the ground. “I’ll call when I can.”

 

“Make sure you do!” his father sniffled a bit. “Oh, my only son…”

 

“Don’t worry so much, appa,” Wonshik laughed. They were standing in front of the school, probably thirty feet from the tall, iridescent gates. Wonshik knew that this was the closest his family would probably get; Gaea Academy’s website had boasted of a new security feature blocking those without authorization from coming any closer than twenty-five feet from the gates. The feature was reportedly installed five years prior as anti-Baet sentiments began to rise.

 

Wonshik was grateful for this feature; in the last month of his Ede school, he had encountered some hateful speculation as to where he was transferring. His friends and girlfriend hadn’t questioned his lie—”I’ve been accepted into a music school in, uh, Japan.”—but others had made snide remarks upon hearing it. “I’m sure that music school is baet-er than this school, huh?” Now, that pun was pretty bad, which made the comment less painful for Wonshik.

 

Wonshik had also narrowly avoided setting things on fire at school, too. Every time anyone said mean things, he felt tingles all over his body—that signified that his powers were starting to come forth. He had had to learn to reign in his feelings and calm down, for he couldn’t afford to accidentally kill the jerks. Fortunately for him, his fear of being found out usually outweighed his anger at the comments.

 

“Well, we’ll see you over the holidays,” his mother said, patting Wonshik on the shoulder.

 

Chaewon, his younger sister, hugged him tightly once more. “Don’t burn the school down,” she said into his chest.

 

“I’ll try not to,” he assured her. She released him from her embrace, and he waved one last time before walking towards the gates.

 

Wonshik was ten feet from the gates when he saw two figures fade into view. He saw the taller figure glare at the other figure; as he came closer, he saw that the figures were both male.

 

“Admit it, being invisible is pretty fun,” the shorter man chortled. The taller man just continued to glare.

 

Wonshik was taken aback by the obvious difference between the two boys. The shorter of the two looked like the little mermaid, Ariel, what with his lightly tanned skin, brilliant green eyes, and bright red hair. He had a wide, cheerful smile on his face that made Wonshik’s breath catch—a somewhat guilty breath catch, as Wonshik had to remind himself that he still had a girlfriend.

 

Meanwhile, the taller boy seemed more like a vampire than anything. He had pale skin that looked almost translucent against the all-black attire he wore; his black hair hung over his face in long, coarse bangs, partially obscuring one of his dark eyes. His glare went from the redhead to Wonshik, and Wonshik felt fear settle in his stomach.

 

“Oh, hey! You’re the new kid!” the merman waved frantically at Wonshik. Wonshik finally stood directly in front of them; he was slightly taller than the pale vampire and felt a little comforted by that fact.

 

“Yeah. Kim Wonshik, nice to meet you.” He bowed slightly to the two.

 

“Cha Hakyeon,” the merman introduced himself, then gestured to the vampire. “He is Jung Taekwoon. I’m happy to meet you!”

 

Taekwoon mumbled, “Nice to meet you.”

 

“Continuing on, we’re the… I guess you could say residential assistants? Guides?” Hakyeon looked to Taekwoon for confirmation; Taekwoon just shrugged. “Yeah. We’re the guides here at Gaea Academy for grades 9-12. We’re in charge of you for today, since you’re a new student.”

 

Hakyeon pulled out a neatly folded envelope from his pocket and handed it to Wonshik. “Here’s your class schedule and your student ID card. Make sure to carry that card with you at all times; it’s the key to your dorm room and your food pass.”

 

Taekwoon placed a hand on the gates and pushed them open. “Not everyone can open these gates,” he said in his soft, quiet voice. “In fact, when you enter campus, you can’t leave unless you get your leave authorized. Remember that.”

 

Wonshik nodded and followed the two through the gates. The gates closed neatly and silently behind them. The courtyard of the school was like a garden; in the center of the yard was a marble figure of presumably Gaea, the earth goddess. Flowers and trees were planted strategically throughout the yard near various benches and tables where some students were milling about.

 

Hakyeon pointed to the largest building on the campus. It was a twelve story steel structure about 150 feet behind the Gaea statue. “That’s the school itself, also known as the Athena building,” Hakyeon explained. “All of your classes, from math to martial arts to power control are in there. And don’t worry, there’s an elevator for all of us who can’t teleport or fly.”

 

“You can’t fly?” Wonshik asked, surprised.

 

“Nope.” Hakyeon chuckled lightly.

 

“Wait, sorry. Is it rude to ask people what their powers are?”

 

“Not at all! It’s kind of like asking someone what grade they’re in. I have the powers of invisibility, intangibility, healing, hydrokinesis, and...uh…” Hakyeon made a strange face. “Body manipulation? I guess? I can control other people’s body parts and hair color and stuff. I can do that to myself, too! Look!”

 

Sure enough, Hakyeon’s bright red locks dimmed to a muted pastel purple and his emerald eyes blended into a light hazel. Taekwoon’s dark ebony hair lightened to a platinum blonde which made the male scowl.

 

“That’s so cool!” Wonshik exclaimed. “Does it stay that way?”

 

“Yeah, until I decide to change it back.” Taekwoon’s hair gradually became black again, but Hakyeon’s new look stayed. “Want me to change yours?”

 

“Yeah! Can you make my hair electric blue?” Wonshik was terribly excited; he had a long bucket list, and crazy hair was just one of many things on that list.

 

Hakyeon’s eyes twinkled. “Already done. Though, I’m surprised you wanted a cool color, considering you’re a pyrokineticist and all.”

 

Wonshik smirked. “Yeah, well, the hottest flames burn blue.” He wasn’t too surprised that Hakyeon knew his power; after all, Hakyeon was waiting to receive him at the gates.

 

Taekwoon cut into their off-topic conversation. “Over there are the dormitories.” He pointed to a cluster of smaller buildings to the right of the Athena building. “There are twenty-four student buildings, each labelled by a Greek letter. Boys dorms are the first twelve letters, girls the last. You’re an eleventh grader, so you’ll be in the Lambda building. Check your schedule for your exact dorm assignment.”

 

“Wow! Taekwoonie, you actually spoke to Wonshik!” Hakyeon cooed.

 

Taekwoon rolled his eyes and gave a pointed look to Hakyeon.

 

A blush spread across Hakyeon’s face. “Anyways…” He cleared his throat. “The dining facilities are behind the Athena building. They’re open from 5am to midnight. If you get hungry during the night, there are vending machines in your dorm buildings.”

 

Hakyeon pointed to a nine-story building to the left of the Athena building. “That’s the Ouranos building. It’s where all the administrative stuff is done. It’s also the dorms for staff and college students. That’s where Taekwoonie and I live, since we’re college freshmen. Right next to it is the Metis building, also known as the college.”

 

Out of nowhere, a boy came running from out of the flower bushes and launched himself towards Taekwoon’s back. Taekwoon’s brown eyes glowed yellow for a brief second before he whipped around and pushed the boy to ground before the boy got any closer. Wonshik stared while Hakyeon laughed.

 

“What the heck are you doing, Jaehwan? You know you can’t sneak up on me! I can hear and smell you!” Taekwoon grabbed the boy—Jaehwan—firmly by his shoulders, but then quickly let go.

 

“No matter what you say, I’ll still try.” Jaehwan pouted. “I thought making the flowers smell extra strongly would confuse you.” He brushed off some of the dirt that had gotten on his hoodie. “Anyways, you probably saw, right? I just got home from vacation!”

 

Taekwoon snorted softly. “Yeah, I saw you breaking your headphones on the plane.”

 

“Those were my favorite, too,” Jaehwan sighed. “Oh well. At least I’m home! California was fun, and they’re more open about Baets there. They thought I was Caucasian because of how I looked! Thanks, Hakyeon hyung!” Jaehwan gestured wildly to his light blonde hair and clear blue eyes. "But nothing beats the rural mountains of South Korea.”

 

“That’s so cute, Jaehwannie,” Hakyeon gushed. “Come here!”

 

Jaehwan complied, and the two spent a good five minutes hugging it out. After they separated from each other, Jaehwan turned to Wonshik.

 

“Hi! Nice to meet you! I’m Lee Jaehwan, a senior!” Jaehwan extended his hand for Wonshik to shake.

 

Wonshik bowed slightly and shook Jaehwan’s hand. “Hello, I’m Kim Wonshik, a junior.”

 

“You’re the new kid, right? The one with the fire powers? Your powers revealed themselves pretty late!”

 

“Really?” Wonshik was intrigued. Though he had done a fair amount of reading on the Gaea Academy website, he hadn’t bothered to research Baets in general.

 

Hakyeon nodded. “Yeah, most Baets' powers start showing up when they’re about six or seven years old. That’s why we start at first grade here. The latest they show up is usually thirteen years old.”

 

“Your power is pretty strong, too!” added Jaehwan. “Stronger powers usually show up earlier.”

 

“I see…” Wonshik shifted back and forth on his feet. This was some new information that he didn't know how to process. “Um... if you don’t mind...could I go to my dorm room?”

 

“Oh, yeah!” Hakyeon looked a tad guilty. “Sorry for keeping you. You can get to the dorms by yourself, right? Taekwoon just told me that we should help Jaehwan’s family unpack.”

 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks for everything!” Wonshik waved to all of them before heading towards the Lambda dorm.

 

“Remember that class starts tomorrow at 8am sharp!” Hakyeon yelled. Wonshik gave him a thumbs up and continued to walk.

 

Wonshik was halfway across the courtyard before he realized that Taekwoon hadn’t spoken at all in those last few minutes—on that note, Wonshik didn’t even know what Taekwoon or Jaehwan could do, yet they all knew of his powers.

  
Wonshik figured that that gave him an excuse to talk to them more once school started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope nobody minds that I went with the cliche "new kid at school" thing... Also, if anyone's confused about how I describe the heights, know that I am using a website as reference. (I'd be lying if I said the thought of short mother hen N doesn't make me squeal in happiness. Of course, N's shortness is still gigantic compared to normal humans like myself.)   
> Also, if anyone's uncomfortable about the "dark color" jokes that VIXX makes at N, please know that I will not include them ^_^ I am aware that many VIXX fans are uncomfortable with these jokes; seeing as how VIXX can be playful with each other without these jokes, I will not be including them. I may mention skin tone from time to time, but they will pretty much always be for compliments (unless someone is "sickly pale" or "sunburnt dark", etc.)   
>  The school year is starting soon (in a few days, actually) so I'm trying to write as many chapters in advance as I can! I don't think I'll have a set updating schedule, but I want to aim for once a week on Mondays. Let's hope that's not too ambitious!


	4. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> School happens and things are burned.

Warning: Mild language.

* * *

Cha Hakyeon was feeling a bit like a sexual predator.

 

Now, don’t get him wrong; he didn’t make it a habit to creep on little children while driving a big white van. But his little attraction to Wonshik did not make him feel like a holy man.

 

Hakyeon groaned in frustration as he jumped backwards onto his bed. Taekwoon raised an eyebrow at his friend’s antics while Jaehwan looked mildly confused.

 

“Wonshik.” Taekwoon stared at Hakyeon. It wasn’t a question; Taekwoon knew. He had even pointed out their flirting during the tour—he wasn’t sadistic, though, so he had pointed it out to Hakyeon through thought-speak.

 

“The new kid?” Jaehwan looked thoroughly intrigued.

 

Hakyeon covered his face with his hands. “He’s so hot.” He slapped his hands over his face several times. “But so illegal.”

 

“Ilegal?”

 

“He’s sixteen years old. I’m eighteen. He's so young!” Hakyeon sobbed into Jaehwan’s shoulder. “Whatever will I do?”

 

Jaehwan snorted. “That’s only two years! I really don’t think that’s illegal, hyung.”

 

“Oh, but what if it is?” Hakyeon pouted. “Then I’ll get arrested for chasing after him!”

 

Jaehwan laughed and hugged Hakyeon. “Don’t worry about that, hyung. Just worry about capturing his heart.”

 

“Oh yeah! Ah, it’d be such bad luck if he’s straight!”

 

Taekwoon marveled at how easily Hakyeon and Jaehwan discussed Wonshik; it had only been a few years prior when Hakyeon fearfully came out to them. Taekwoon himself hadn’t yet come out to his friends regarding his demisexuality, but he figured that it wasn’t something that required much coming out.

 

* * *

 

_“Taekwoon. Jaehwan. Hongbin. Sanghyuk. I need to tell you guys something.”_

_Hakyeon’s serious, formal tone was what captured everyone’s attention. They were in Hakyeon and Taekwoon’s shared dorm room in the Kappa building. Sanghyuk and Hongbin stopped their game of kai-bai-bo, Jaehwan looked up from his music theory textbook, and Taekwoon stopped kicking a soccer ball around. Hakyeon sat on the edge of his futon, his hands clasped together tightly._

_The room was dead silent for a few moments before Hakyeon broke the tension with a shuddering breath._

_“I’m…” Hakyeon took one more breath. “I’m gay.”_

_Taekwoon was the first to move. He placed a comforting hand on Hakyeon’s shoulder and was bombarded by a vision of Hakyeon quietly crying himself to sleep. Taekwoon felt an overwhelming amount of guilt; not only had he accidentally invaded Hakyeon’s privacy, he had also failed to notice Hakyeon’s crying at night. He felt like a terribly bad friend._

_The next person to move was Jaehwan. He abandoned his music theory book on the floor and engulfed Hakyeon in a bone-crushing hug. “Don’t cry, hyung,” Jaehwan murmured into the side of Hakyeon’s neck. “I’m pansexual.”_

_Hakyeon let out a choked laugh. “It figures that you would love everyone,” he joked. “No, really, though. Thank you for telling me.”_

_“Thank you for telling us, hyung,” Hongbin said sincerely._

_Sanghyuk nodded. “Yeah! Thank you, hyung.”_

_Sanghyuk and Hongbin were both twelve and thirteen respectively, so they had only just begun puberty. Both wondered vaguely if they would have to “come out” one day, too._

_Jaehwan looked over to Taekwoon. “How about you?”_

_Taekwoon shrugged and ruffled his bangs self-consciously. “I don’t know. Haven’t thought about it much.” And it was true—he really hadn’t thought of it much. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he only felt attraction towards Jaehwan… but that wasn’t possible, was it?_

_He would have to do some internet research that night; first, to find out what “pansexual” meant, and, second, to find out if it were possible to just be attracted to one person._

_Taekwoon sighed. “Let’s get some snacks,” he told the group._

_Hakyeon beamed from ear to ear, his tears long forgotten. “I’ll pay!”_

* * *

 

Wonshik’s roommate had been a tiny, doe-eyed boy by the name of Do Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo had the power of geokinesis/terrakinesis, and Wonshik had decided that his roommate was going to be nicknamed “Bolin” from then on. Kyungsoo did not think Wonshik fit the description of Mako, though, and was a tad frustrated that he could not find a suitable nickname. Still, the fact that both of them were major Avatar nerds was enough to form a friendly bond between the two.

 

The morning of the first day of school, Kyungsoo invited Wonshik to get breakfast with him. Wonshik, as he had no real friends, agreed. He quickly pulled out his phone to check if his girlfriend had texted him, and, sure enough, she had. Wonshik quickly sent out a reply and tucked his phone away.

 

Minah ❤

 

_What are you doing today? :)_

 

Wonshik

_First day of class. Talk to you later!_

 

“Who’re you texting?” Kyungsoo asked as they walked down the dormitory hallway.

 

“My girlfriend,” Wonshik replied. “She’s an Ede. To be honest, I don’t know if I’ll be able to hide my powers from her.”

 

Kyungsoo nodded and pushed open the door leading to the outside. “I know we just met last night, but I think you shouldn’t hide it from her. That’s just bad for the relationship. If you don’t want her to find out, then I think you need to break up.”

 

Wonshik felt a bit of irritation and defensiveness at hearing that. He knew what Kyungsoo had said was true, but he didn’t really like hearing it. “I guess so. I’ll see.”

 

They didn’t talk much on the way to the cafeteria.

 

When Wonshik entered the cafeteria, he was immediately greeted by the sight of Hakyeon, Taekwoon, Jaehwan, and two other boys sitting at the table closest to the entrance. “Here! Wonshik! Sit here after you get your food!” Jaehwan waved his arms enthusiastically.

 

Kyungsoo looked at Wonshik. “I didn’t know you were friends with Jaehwan hyung,” Kyungsoo said.

 

Wonshik shrugged. “I met him yesterday when Hakyeon hyung and Taekwoon hyung were giving me a campus tour. Why? Is there something wrong?”

 

Kyungsoo shook his head. “Oh, no! I’m friends with him too. I was just surprised since you said you came here from an Ede school.”

 

“Oh, okay. Thanks for inviting me to eat with you, Kyungsoo.”

 

“No problem! Maybe I’ll introduce you to my friends another time.” Kyungsoo smiled and got in line for the pancakes. Wonshik opted to pick up some kimbap and headed to Hakyeon’s table.

 

“Hey, Wonshik,” Hakyeon greeted as he sipped his latte. Wonshik thought Hakyeon looked rather adorable drinking the coffee.

 

That was when Wonshik figured that he might have to break up with his girlfriend soon. If he was hiding secrets from her and forgetting about her in favor of cute guys, then what was the point of leading her on? Of course, the feelings might’ve been separation-induced feelings, but Wonshik couldn’t deny how cute Hakyeon looked with his natural dark hair, dark eyes, and bright smile.

 

That was when Wonshik’s snapback caught aflame.

 

“Uh...Wonshik?” Hakyeon pointed to the top of Wonshik’s head. “Your hat’s...kind of on fire.”

 

“Oh, da — darn it!” Wonshik swatted at the flames eating at his snapback. That did no good; it only encouraged the fire to grow. "This is my favorite one!"

 

“Don't be afraid to curse,” Hakyeon laughed. "You're part of the group now." Then he furrowed his brows at the sight of the continuously growing fire. "Do you need me to put that out for you?"

 

Wonshik smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, that’d be great. Thanks.”

 

Hakyeon directed a small stream of water from the nearby water fountain and encased the flame in it. The flame quickly died out, but a good portion of the snapback was ruined.

 

“Ah, so he’s the firebender,” one of the boys Wonshik didn’t know commented.

 

Wonshik nodded. “Yeah, I am. Prince Zuko, at your service.”

 

The boy laughed, disappeared from his spot next to Jaehwan, and reappeared right besides Wonshik. Wonshik dropped a piece of his kimbap. “You’re funny! I like you. Hi, nice to meet you, Wonshik hyung. I’m Sanghyuk, a sophomore.”

 

“So I guess you can teleport, huh?” Wonshik patted Sanghyuk’s head.

 

“I’m also a very good Aang. Well, the airbender part of him.” Sanghyuk began to fly away from his place besides Wonshik. He settled back down besides the other boy Wonshik didn’t know. “I can also steal energy from people.”

 

“Well, that’s threatening.” Wonshik looked to the unknown boy. “Nice to meet you, I’m Wonshik.”

 

The boy smiled, revealing two deep dimples. “I’m Hongbin, also a junior. I guess I’m sort of a metalbender; my skin can turn into armor. I can see a few minutes into the future and have a photographic memory, too.”

 

“Ah, that’s cool!” Wonshik exclaimed. “We have a firebender, airbender, metalbender, and waterbender!”

 

Hakyeon said, “Ah, you kids are such nerds. The first thing you guys talk about is Avatar!”

 

“Avatar is cool, hyung!” Sanghyuk finished his muffin. “It’s too bad that they pulled it from national broadcasting stations because it was called “Baet Propaganda”. It was a great show.”

 

“Oh, is that why they stopped airing Legend of Korra?” Wonshik asked. “The channel just said they were losing viewers, so they had to move it online.”

 

“Yeah, they lost a lot of Ede viewers,” Hakyeon answered. He licked a bit of cream off of the top of his lip, and Wonshik couldn’t help but stare.

 

“Hakyeon hyung.” Jaehwan sounded mildly panicked. “Your shirt’s on fire!”

 

“Oh, shit!” Hakyeon splashed water on the flame. “No wonder my back was getting pretty hot.”

 

“Sorry, hyung,” Wonshik apologized. “I can’t control my powers yet.”

 

“That’s fine,” Hakyeon assured Wonshik. “That’s why you’re at this school.”

 

Taekwoon didn’t bother looking up from his own coffee as he sent Hakyeon a thought-message. “That’s his way of telling you that he thinks you’re hot.”

 

A blush rivalling the color of Wonshik’s flames bloomed on Hakyeon’s cheeks. “You shut your mouth, Jung Taekwoon.”

 

Wonshik looked very confused. “He didn’t say anything, though...”

 

“Oh, right. He didn’t tell you yesterday.” Hakyeon picked up his cup. “Taekwoonie here can send messages via thought. He can’t read minds, though, so we usually just respond out loud.”

 

“That’s pretty cool,” Wonshik commented. “What else can Taekwoon hyung do?”

 

Taekwoon looked mildly irked by the question, but he responded, “I can turn into a cat, talk to animals, and smell, hear, and see things really well. If I touch someone, then I see what they recently did.”

 

“Do you just randomly see the event?”

 

Taekwoon nodded.

 

“That’s kind of inconvenient… Thanks for telling me.” Wonshik looked to Jaehwan. “What are your powers, Jaehwan hyung?”

 

Jaehwan finished folding his napkin into a origami frog and tossed it into Hongbin’s hands. “I can change people’s moods, persuade people to do things, persuade plants to do things, and learn any language pretty much instantly.” Jaehwan opened his mouth widely, but no sound came out—at least, no sound that Wonshik could hear. Taekwoon visibly winced. “I also have echolocation!”

 

Taekwoon swatted at Jaehwan. “Can you stop doing that? When I’m human, it sounds like you’re scratching nails on a chalkboard or you’re scraping a fork in a metal bowl.”

 

Jaehwan pouted, but he did look a bit guilty. “Sorry, hyung.”

 

“On the topic of loud things…” Hongbin tossed out his milk carton. “The bell for class is going to ring soon.”

 

Sure enough, it did.

 

“Wow, did you use your foresight to predict that?” Wonshik asked, getting up from his seat.

 

Hongbin chuckled good-naturedly. “No. I checked my watch.”

 

* * *

 

“Four are confirmed dead at a shooting in a Tous Le Jours in Gangnam. The shooter is Jeon Deohyun, a known member of the anti-Baet terrorist group, The Race. He allegedly assaulted, then shot, Kim Minhyun when the man used telekinesis in the store. Kim’s friends were also shot when they fought back, along with the cashier who tried to intervene. The security footage shows that Jeon was wearing a hood and face mask upon entry. Jeon is being treated for third degree burns and is in critical condition. He faces charges of second degree murder, among many other charges.”

 

Hakyeon really did not enjoy his Baet and Magical Creatures Current Events class. Besides the extremely long name, it never failed to dampen his mood for the day. Unfortunately, it was one of his general ed classes that he had take. He understood that, as Baets, they had to be aware of the hatred they faced, but it was still depressing to watch and read those news articles.

 

“Hey. You feeling okay?”

 

Hakyeon forced a smile and shrugged at Taekwoon. Taekwoon furrowed his brows, but didn’t press further, as he knew that Hakyeon always got particularly depressed when they watched anti-Baet news stories. It made sense, as Hakyeon had been abandoned by his parents for being a Baet. Taekwoon couldn’t imagine how it must’ve felt; though Taekwoon was also abandoned, he, at least, seemed to have been left behind for a good reason—a hateful parent would’ve never taken the time to drop Taekwoon off, with a note, at Headmaster Lee’s doorstep.

 

“After TA period, let’s go get ice cream, okay?”

 

Hakyeon’s smile became genuine. “I’m going to invite Wonshik.”

 

Taekwoon rolled his eyes affectionately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you were confused, italics will usually be used for thought-speak, flashbacks, or texting :) If there is thought-speak or texting in a flashback, then the thought-speak or text will be bolded and italicized. Also, Wonshik's current girlfriend is named Minah, but I didn't intend her to be Girl's Day's Minah. It doesn't really matter, though, as she won't play too big of a role in this story...or will she? Hahaha...
> 
> Also, if anyone read the foreword, I updated it to say that I'll be aiming for updates on every other Monday. School is more difficult than I anticipated!


	5. Chapter Three

Wonshik came out of his English class feeling rather excited. All of his classes for the day were pretty much like the classes he took at his Ede school—with the exception of the Baet history class and the occasional use of powers, Gaea Academy was like a normal (er, Ede) school. Now, though, Wonshik could learn to use and control the fire coursing beneath his skin. To say he was excited was an understatement.

 

Wonshik entered the elevator and pressed the button for the roof. Apparently, Beginner Power Control was typically held on the roof to avoid accidents; the wide open space allowed the teachers and teachers’ assistants to act immediately without worrying that they would destroy a ceiling or wall. Of course, some mishaps occasionally occurred due to the lack of walls, so Gaea Academy had installed state-of-the-art, magical fencing. Wonshik wasn’t too sure how it worked, but he trusted that it did.

 

A slick-haired, well-built boy stepped into the elevator at the same time Wonshik did. The boy looked at Wonshik and a hint of scowl flashed across his face; just as quickly as it had come, it was gone. Wonshik wondered if there was a power for seeing things that weren’t there (he figured that that power was likely drug-related...not that he would know much about drugs).

 

“Hey, I’m Kang Seokjin.” The guy stuck out his hand. “Senior here.”

 

Wonshik bowed his head slightly. “Nice to meet you. I’m Kim Wonshik, a junior.”

 

Seokjin laughed a barking, sharp laugh. “I’d ask ya why y’re goin’ ta a beginnin’ class, but I’m goin’ there too, so I shouldn’t be askin’.”

 

Wonshik was slightly perplexed at the obviously forced Busan accent, but he made no comment. “I’m a new student here.”

 

“Guess that makes ya better than me. Been goin’ to this place since I was thirteen, and I still can’t control a damn thing.”

 

Wonshik forced an awkward smile and nodded. Why was this building twelve stories tall? Sure, the elevator was magical and moved far faster than a normal elevator, but, at that moment, Wonshik wished that he could have Sanghyuk’s power of teleportation.

 

Much to Wonshik’s relief, the elevator dinged to signal its arrival, and the doors slid smoothly open. “Nice talking to you,” Wonshik lied, hurrying quickly out of the elevator. Sure, Seokjin was friendly enough, but something about the boy just made Wonshik feel weird.

 

Unfortunately for Wonshik, Seokjin followed closely behind. “I know why y’re tryin’ ta leave so quick,” he said. “It’s my powers. People feel weird around me. It’s cuz my power is to stop other powers. ‘Course I can’t control it, so sometimes it just happens. Bet ya can’t use yer power now.”

 

Wonshik realized that, yes, the weird feeling that he got was the lack of fire itching in his veins; still, though, something about Seokjin’s brief scowl and forced Busan accent made Wonshik cautious. “Yeah, that’s it,” he lied once more.

 

Seokjin smirked and wandered off. Wonshik looked around the roof for anyone familiar; he saw Hakyeon and Taekwoon talking to two young looking instructors.

 

Mostly freshman (or so Wonshik assumed) were around him, but he seemed to stick out with his awkward and hesitant stance. As comfortable as he was with making new friends, being suddenly immersed into this new world of magic and powers was still jarring. He felt a longing for the familiarity of his Ede school.

 

“Okay, everyone, please sit down in a circle,” the female instructor ordered. All of the students obeyed and sat in a circle around the instructors.

 

“Welcome to your first day of this school year,” a rather short male instructor said cheerfully. “I’m Mr. Kim, but just call me Ryeowook hyung or oppa. I’m only twenty-one years old.”

 

“And I’m Ms. Song, or Victoria noona or unnie. I’m also only twenty-one years old.” Victoria smiled, then gestured to Hakyeon and Taekwoon. “We may be young, but these kiddos here are younger, so they’re our TAs.”

 

Hakyeon laughed brightly. “I’m Cha Hakyeon. Maybe a few of you remember me; I only graduated last year.”

 

“Jung Taekwoon.” Taekwoon shifted uncomfortably under the stares of so many students.

 

“Now, there should only be twenty-two of you in this class.” Victoria took a quick sweeping glance at the students and nodded. “Okay, that’s correct. We’re going to have two groups of five and two groups of six. Please group up accordingly.”

 

Wonshik looked around and saw the students grouping up rather quickly; they probably knew who their friends were. He saw Seokjin headed his way so he quickly joined up with a group with five members.

 

“Oh, hey, are you new here? I’ve never seen you around.” asked a boy with big, pouty lips. He had light pastel purple hair and bangs sweeping over his forehead. (Wonshik thought that the color suited Hakyeon better, but that was just his bias affecting his thoughts. The boy looked completely fine in the color.)

 

Wonshik nodded. “Yeah, I am.”

 

“I love your hair,” another boy said. His hair was a light lavender-pink that fell over his forehead and eyebrows.

 

“Thanks, Hakyeon hyung did it for me,” Wonshik said, touching his electric blue strands. He had styled it in a messy, side-parted pompadour that he was slightly afraid to mess up.

 

“Why don’t we introduce ourselves?” a girl with an uneven, ocean blue bob suggested. “Hi, I’m Park Sunyoung, but please call me Luna. I’m a junior. I’m a quarter siren, so my powers are pretty unpredictable. Mostly, I can control people with my voice and control water, but these powers are affected by the moon and its position around Earth. That’s why my control is still pretty bad.”

 

“I’m Jung Krystal, a sophomore.” Krystal had mid-back length dark pink hair. “I have the power of ice, but also light. Since they’re pretty different powers, they mess with each other and my control over them.”

 

A boy with bleached blond hair styled similarly to Wonshik’s waved at his group. “Hello, I’m Hwang Minhyun, a freshman. I only found out my powers a year ago. I can enter other people’s dreams, photographs, and videos if I touch them. I can also bring things out of dreams, photographs, and videos. As you can guess, it gets pretty bad, pretty quickly.”

 

The pouty-mouthed boy with pastel purple hair spoke next. “I’m Ahn Daniel, but I prefer Niel. I’m also a freshman. I’m half harpy. I sometimes have wings, and can fly and run really fast. I can also control wind. I’m sure Luna noona understands; when you have powers from being part magical creature, your control isn’t usually too good.”

 

Finally, the pink-haired boy introduced himself. “I’m Lee Sungjong, a junior. I can control inanimate, humanoid objects like stuffed animals. I can also summon objects from other places, like the “accio” spell from Harry Potter. I guess I spent more time learning girl group dances than practicing my powers, so here I am.”

 

Everyone chuckled at a bit at that.

 

“So...you guys didn’t know each other beforehand?” Wonshik was puzzled.

 

“Nope.” Luna emphasized the “p” sound. “Well, Krystal and I know each other, but we just decided to team up with the people with interesting hair.”

 

“Same,” Sungjong added.

 

Wonshik grinned. “Well, that’s cool. I’m Kim Wonshik, a junior. I have fire power. I just found out my power a few months ago, so that’s why I can barely control it.”

 

“Okay, now that everyone is acquainted with their group, we can begin!” Victoria called out. “We’ll each be leading a group. Does any group have any leader requests?”

 

Seokjin’s voice came from a five-membered group. “I want Hakyeon. His ass is fine!”

 

Suddenly, Seokjin was completely frozen.

 

Hakyeon advanced towards Seokjin with his hand in a claw shape. His facial expression was carefully neutral, but Wonshik could see the hints of regret and loathing in his eyes. “That’s Hakyeon hyung, to you. Ryeowook hyung, would you mind sending this boy to the headmaster’s office?”

 

“I wouldn’t mind at all.” Ryeowook waved his hand through the air, and, instantly, Seokjin was unconscious. Hakyeon released his hold on Seokjin, allowing the teenage boy to crumple to the floor. Ryeowook waved his hand again, and Seokjin disappeared from the roof.

 

“Woah, that guy really was creepy,” Wonshik whispered to his group. “But wasn’t that a little harsh, knocking him unconscious?”

 

“You weren’t here last year, but almost everyone knows about that guy, Seokjin,” Niel answered. “Even I knew, and I was still in middle school.”

 

“What happened?” Wonshik couldn’t imagine what could’ve been so bad about Seokjin, even though he had gotten bad vibes from him earlier.

 

“He asked Hakyeon oppa on a date, and Hakyeon oppa accepted out of kindness and pity,” Krystal explained. “He turned out to be an absolute creep, so there was no second date. He was so obsessed with Hakyeon oppa, though, and followed him almost everywhere. One time he even managed to tackle Hakyeon oppa because his powers stopped Hakyeon oppa’s powers. After he assaulted Taekwoon oppa for being around Hakyeon oppa all the time, Headmaster Lee suspended him for three weeks. Headmaster Lee is too kind, though, so he still lets Seokjin go here.”

 

“That’s horrible.” Wonshik felt rage grow in him as he thought of Hakyeon being stalked and harassed by Seokjin. That bastard!

 

“Woah, woah, woah!” Minhyun cried. “The roof is on fire!”

 

Wonshik fury was replaced by panic. The fire was probably caused by him, as it had encircled his group and was crackling a magnificent blue. Wonshik cursed under his breath.

 

“Okay, everyone, back away!” Wonshik heard Hakyeon say loudly to the fearful students.

 

Next thing Wonshik knew, a huge torrent of water whirled through his fire, effectively putting it out. He watched in awe as Hakyeon manipulated the water above their heads and let it evaporate away.

 

“That was amazing,” Wonshik breathed out.

 

Hakyeon beamed. “Oh, well, thank you! I wouldn’t have had to do it if you hadn’t lost control, though.”

 

Wonshik’s cheeks turned as red as Krystal’s hair. “Uh, yeah, sorry, hyung.”

 

Hakyeon shook his head. “No, it’s fine. This is a beginner class, after all.”

 

Victoria sighed, “Well, I guess Hakyeon will be taking over that group. We don’t want any more fires to get out of hand.”

 

“That was so cool, though,” Minhyun said to Wonshik. “I mean, I was pretty scared, but it was still really cool. I wish I had powers like that.”

 

Hakyeon patted Minhyun on the shoulder. “Oh, don’t say that!” Hakyeon pinched the freshman’s cheek. “Everyone’s power is special. Now, let’s get started!”

 

* * *

 

An hour later, everyone in the group was panting and sweaty, minus Hakyeon.

 

“Jeez, how do you use your powers so effortlessly?” Wonshik had his hands on his knees and was breathing heavily. “You taught all of us, and you haven’t even broken a sweat!”

 

“Years of experience, Wonshikkie,” Hakyeon teased and slung his free arm over Wonshik’s shoulders.

 

Sungjong took a seat on a lounge chair that he had summoned onto the roof. “I’m so tired,” he groaned. “The other years I’ve had this class, nobody worked us this hard!”

 

“Maybe that’s why you’re still in this class.” Niel was lying on the ground with his feathery wings spread wide. “I’m so sweaty, but I can’t even summon wind to cool me off.”

 

“Hey, speak respectfully to me, freshie brat.” Sungjong lifted his hand as if to use his powers, then let it drop back onto the armrest. “Ah, damn it.”

 

Minhyun had various photos lying around, each of them missing some items. “I’m just glad I didn’t get stuck in this one.” He held up a photo of a farm. “There were just wheat fields for miles.”

 

“You have Victoria unnie to thank for that,” Krystal mumbled, her eyelashes dusted with pieces of frost.

 

Luna was shakily controlling her water with Hakyeon’s help. “Thank you so much, Hakyeon oppa,” she said gratefully. “I think I might actually get some control over my powers this year. I’m glad Victoria unnie, Ryeowook oppa, and Taekwoon oppa are teaching, too. The teachers from the last few years didn’t care about the beginners much.”

 

A warm, soft smile spread over Hakyeon’s face. “It’s my pleasure,” he told the group. “I love helping and leading. I think teaching beginners is the most fun; it makes me feel so happy whenever you guys learn something new and improve.”

 

Wonshik admired Hakyeon’s compassionate nature and felt his heart swell at hearing Hakyeon’s kind words. He sat back down on the ground and watched Hakyeon help Luna. He appreciated Hakyeon’s current grey-blue hair that complimented his glowing skin; Hakyeon’s sparkling brown eyes; Hakyeon’s lean and lithe figure. Above all, though, Wonshik loved Hakyeon’s smile.

 

Wait.

 

_Loved?_

 

Wonshik groaned softly and ruffled his already messed up hair. It was way too early to use a word like love, so Wonshik decided that he really liked Hakyeon’s smile. It was the most attractive thing Hakyeon had, and that was saying a lot, as Hakyeon was attractive all over.

 

After sneakily staring at Hakyeon for several more minutes, Wonshik finally remembered his girlfriend. That was when he knew, for sure, that he had to break up with her. He couldn’t lead her on while he crushed on Hakyeon.

 

 "Hey, Wonshikkie." Hakyeon approached Wonshik after class was over. "Do you want to get ice cream with Taekwoonie and the rest?"

 

 "I'd love to!" Wonshik coughed, a bit embarrassed by his outburst. "I... I mean, sure."

 

 Hakyeon grinned widely. "Great!"

* * *

 At promptly 9pm Wonshik video called his girlfriend.

“Hey, babe!” Minah’s crackly voice greeted through Wonshik’s laptop. “How was your day?”

 

“Ah, it was fine,” Wonshik muttered. He didn’t really know how to break up with someone. He felt bad not doing it in person, but he couldn’t leave the school just to break up with her.

 

Minah frowned. “Are you okay?”

 

“Uh...yeah...listen…” Wonshik tapped nervously on his laptop keyboard. “I...uh…I called you so that we could have a serious talk.”

 

“Oh.” Minah’s voice was flat. “You’re breaking up with me, aren’t you?”

 

“I… Yeah… I’m so sorry,” Wonshik said. “I… I don’t think I can do the long-distance thing.”

 

“I… I understand.” Minah gulped. “I understand.”

 

“Look, Minah, I’m so sorry.” Wonshik clenched his fists. “I wish I could’ve told you in person.”

 

“No, no, it’s fine—” Minah’s sentence was cut off by the sound of someone falling onto the floor of Wonshik’s room. “What the hell?”

 

Wonshik looked behind him and saw Kyungsoo and two other guys on the floor of his bedroom. His heart dropped to his stomach.

 

“Damn it, Jongin, I told you we should’ve walked!” one of the unknown boys grumbled. “I knew you would miss hyung’s bed!”

 

“Shut up, Sehun,” Jongin hissed. “Did you really want to walk all the way here just to get something and then walk back? I don’t think so!”

 

“Guys, stop fighting,” Kyungsoo scolded. He stood up and brushed off his clothes. “Now I’ll just get my wallet, and we’ll be off.”

 

“Wonshik, what the hell just happened?” Minah shrieked. The three boys looked over at Wonshik.

 

“Uh, sorry Minah, got to go!” Wonshik quickly ended the video call and closed his laptop screen.

 

Kyungsoo’s eyes were wider than normal. “Was that your Ede girlfriend?”

 

“Ex-girlfriend.” Wonshik rubbed his face with his hands. “Now she probably knows I’m a Baet, too.”

 

Jongin said, “Well, not like she can do anything about that.”

 

Wonshik sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. I was just hoping I could go back home without having people talk about me.”

 

“You learn to live with it,” Sehun commented. “You can’t hide forever.”

 

Kyungsoo patted Wonshik comfortingly on the shoulder. “I hope things go well. Do you want to come with us? We’re going to the secret downtown area.”

 

“Ah, no, I think I’m gonna take a nap…” Wonshik perked up. “Wait, did you say secret downtown area?”

 

Kyungsoo nodded. “Well, it’s not really a secret. You just have to be an upperclassman and meet some power control requirements to get in. I’m allowed three guests, though.”

 

“That sounds cool,” Wonshik said sincerely. “Thanks for telling me. But I’m going to have to pass. Have fun!”

 

“Okay.” Kyungsoo went and linked arms with the two other boys.

 

“Nice meeting you!” Jongin yelled, before the three of them disappeared.

  
Wonshik collapsed onto his bed and quickly fell asleep, his thoughts on a certain college freshman with a smile that could end wars.


	6. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Halloween is a strange time.

Several weeks later, Wonshik was doing significantly better with his fire. He couldn’t even remember the last time something had accidentally caught on fire!

 

His academic classes were okay, too. The only class he was having trouble with was calculus. He felt overwhelmed by all the math, but he was still passing the class with a low A; that was mostly due to the help Taekwoon was so kindly providing him (well, he helped him because he couldn’t stand Wonshik’s complaining).

 

Wonshik hadn’t felt that comfortable with a group of people since—well, since he could remember. He had never felt so comfortable around his Ede friends...but maybe that was because he wasn’t an Ede. Maybe he had always known that he was a little out of place.

 

It was the Sunday before Halloween when Hakyeon gathered everyone up to (last-minute) coordinate costumes.

 

“I have all of our costumes figured out,” he gushed as he led everyone into his and Taekwoon’s dorm room. “I went out and bought them a while ago!”

 

“You better not have bought us girl clothes like last year,” Hongbin grumbled. “I don’t know why we went along with it.”

 

“You’ve got to admit, I was a hot girl!” Hakyeon walked to the magical closet. “Tell Wonshikkie all about it while I get the costumes.” He walked into the closet and went to the back to get the clothes.

 

Jaehwan threw his left arm over Taekwoon and squeezed tightly. “All of us went along with Hakyeon hyung’s crazy crossdressing idea except for this guy.” Taekwoon glared.

 

Sanhyuk shrugged and leaned against Hakyeon’s bed frame. “I did it because he said he’d treat us to fried chicken.”

 

“Same,” Hongbin sighed. “Don’t think the chicken was worth it, though.”

 

“How did Taekwoon hyung get out of it?” Wonshik was extremely shocked to learn that Taekwoon has escaped Hakyeon’s clutches.

 

“I injured my leg playing soccer,” Taekwoon deadpanned, but after a few moments his mouth turned up at the corners. “The injury was pretty bad.”

 

Hongbin glared at Taekwoon while Sanghyuk and Jaehwan shrugged. “I’m secure in my own masculinity that crossdressing doesn’t phase me,” Sanghyuk teased Hongbin.

 

“I’m secure too! I just didn’t feel comfortable in a frilly skirt!” Hongbin shrieked and punched Sanghyuk.

 

“Now, now, stop fighting you two,” Hakyeon nagged as he walked out of his closet holding a big bundle of clothes. “I’ve got the costumes!”

 

Jaehwan snorted. “Hyung, you just came out of the closet.”

 

Hakyeon rolled his eyes. “Yeah, not like I did that sophomore year of high school or anything.”

 

Wonshik looked somewhat aghast while the others simply laughed. “You guys are so comfortable about this.”

 

However, Wonshik saw immediately that that wasn’t the case. Hakyeon and Jaehwan visibly stiffened at Wonshik’s comment while the other three (well, more like two) fell silent.

 

“Yeah,” Hakyeon said cautiously, “we are. Do...do you have a problem with that?”

 

“Oh, oh, of course not!” Wonshik held his hands up. “I’m bi. I’m just surprised. Back at my Ede school, people would get bullied for this.”

 

Hakyeon relaxed his shoulders. “Oh, okay. Yeah, I’m gay. Baets aren’t super accepting, but they’re more accepting than Edes.”

 

“While we’re on the topic of closets and acceptance, I’m pan!” Jaehwan exclaimed. “But no, I don’t think kitchen utensils are hot. Well, they’re hot when they’re being used to cook food.”

 

Taekwoon quietly added, “I’m demi.”

 

Jaehwan snuck a glance at Taekwoon and briefly wondered what that admission implied.

 

“I’m asexual,” Hongbin confessed, looking down.

 

Sanghyuk’s face fell slightly before returning to its previously bright expression. “I’m bi, too.” Sanghyuk high-fived Wonshik. “Double trouble!”

 

The group fell silent as they all took in the new information about each other. Hakyeon eventually cleared his throat and clapped his hands. “Okay, time for the costumes!” Hakyeon walked around to everyone and handed the costumes out. “It was hard to find costumes for this, so I ended up having to improvise and sew things myself.”

 

Taekwoon almost immediately threw his costume back to Hakyeon. “No.”

 

Jaehwan screeched in delight. “I think you mean yes!” He pressed the green fabric against his chest. “Suki is badass.”

 

“Where’d you get this bald cap?” Sanghyuk asked, holding up the plastic material. “Wow, the arrow looks pretty cool!”

 

“I can see that, twinkle toes,” Hongbin teased.

 

Wonshik studied his red clothes carefully. “You really sewed all this? You have my honor.”

 

Hakyeon laughed boisterously. “Well, to be fair, my fashion design classes were good times to work on this.”

 

“Ew, hyung, I don’t want to get married to you!” Sanghyuk pointed to the blue fabric in Hakyeon’s arms.

 

Hakyeon smirked playfully. “Don’t worry, Hyukkie, I was always more of a fan of Zutara!” Hakyeon winked at Wonshik.

 

Wonshik chuckled. “Well, I’m glad you didn’t make Taekwoon hyung a Mai costume.”

 

“Yeah, Taekwonnie hyung,” Jaehwan whined, shaking Taekwoon’s arm. “Please, please, please be the Sokka to my Suki! Your hair is long enough to tie back!”

 

“Sokka was too loud,” Taekwoon mumbled. “And his puns were stupid. If anything, you should be Sokka.”

 

“Oh, are you saying that you want to be Suki?” Jaehwan giggled, but then he cried out in pain. “Ow! Taekwoon hyung! That hurts!” Jaehwan rubbed the back of his neck.

 

Hakyeon clapped his hands excitedly. “I can’t wait to see you guys tomorrow!”

 

* * *

 

Halloween just happened to be a full moon night that year. Taekwoon was on edge; normal full moons were bad enough, but a full moon on one of the most spiritual nights of the year? Werecreatures and other magical beings were on a collective edge.

 

On full moon nights Taekwoon often found himself in an angry, aggressive mood. His transformation into a cat took less energy, but returning to his human form was more difficult. His senses in his human form were usually sharper, almost overwhelming; his thought projection also typically got more out of hand, and he sometimes accidentally sent things he hadn’t meant to send. In contrast, his psychometry got extremely weaker; the involuntary visions would often only show a brief flash of a very recent event.

 

Taekwoon’s enhanced hearing was what alerted him to the fact that he wouldn’t be able to get out of the Halloween festivities. The moment he woke up, he heard Hakyeon getting ready in the bathroom—even though it was barely six o’clock. Taekwoon had been hoping that he would wake up before Hakyeon, but no such luck.

 

Hakyeon came out of the restroom to find Taekwoon already dressed in his water tribe attire. Hakyeon smiled softly and adjusted the hair loopies he had painstakingly braided into his wavy dark brown hair, before walking over to Taekwoon. Hakyeon gathered Taekwoon’s black locks into his hands, turned the hair brown, and tied it into a messy ponytail.

 

“You need to be brave and get your Suki,” Hakyeon said as he patted Taekwoon on the shoulder. “And be careful today, it’s a full moon.”

 

“I know that,” Taekwoon bit out. His shoulders tensed up before he relaxed them marginally. “And as for Jaehwan, I’ll do something when it’s right.”

 

“I mean—” Hakyeon sighed, “I know he returns your feelings. I’m sure of it. Just… If you don’t tell him that you feel the same… It’s just going to be so many years of missed opportunities. He’ll wait for you. But you shouldn’t make him wait.”

 

Taekwoon shook Hakyeon off and advanced towards the door. He didn’t feel like getting a lecture from Hakyeon early in the morning. “I’ll do it when it’s right.” The door to their room slammed shut.

 

Hakyeon sighed. He looked in the mirror to check his appearance; the hair loopies were set, his blue trousers were neat, and his eyes were a nice ocean hue. When he was satisfied with his look, he left the room, making a mental note to apologize to Taekwoon later.

 

* * *

 

The group’s costumes had been complimented immensely by various students and faculty. It was amazing to see Gaea Academy on a Halloween day; the whole school partook in the spooky and fun festivities. Teachers and students alike dressed up, whether they just slapped on a headband or went full out with handmade costumes. A lot of magical creature hybrids would come in their magical forms, and students used their powers seamlessly, as Halloween enhanced the magic in the air.

 

The day had started pretty well. At the beginning of breakfast, Hakyeon had stood up in front of the entire cafeteria to recite Katara’s intro speech. At the end of his speech, he was met with rounds of applause and cheers.

 

Sanghyuk had lamented the loss of attention and decided to airbend as much as possible. Wonshik kept screaming out various badly-remembered quotes to go with his fireballs. (“Honor!”) That caused Jaehwan to display his amazing Kyoshi Island warrior moves. Even Hongbin joined in on the fun with his occasional sarcastic quips and various blind jokes. Taekwoon felt just as embarrassed as he did when the group crossdressed.

 

When breakfast ended, every single one of them—minus Taekwoon—left to their classes in cheery moods. Sanghyuk raced off to his Korean class on a wind sphere while Wonshik and Hongbin went to their Calculus class with arms linked. (“Everyone else went on a life changing field trip with Zuko! Now it’s my turn!”)

 

All in all, it was a pretty good day. Even Taekwoon, who was feeling the rather dizzying effects of a full moon and Halloween at the same time, couldn’t deny that he felt rather begrudging joyful with his friends. Well, as joyful as he could get while feeling like something was trying to claw its way out of his body.

 

Hakyeon had invited everyone to a small little Halloween party at his and Taekwoon’s dorm room. Hakyeon told everyone—including Taekwoon—to occupy themselves until seven o’clock, as he planned to decorate the room for the party himself. Hongbin and Sanghyuk promised to take Wonshik to the downtown area; Taekwoon and Jaehwan planned to do homework under the shade of their friendship tree.

 

Taekwoon and Jaehwan’s friendship tree was so named because the oak tree only allowed those two to sit under its shade. Any time any other student tried to sit in its shade, the shadows somehow shifted to avoid the person. Jaehwan had planted it behind the adminstrative office when he first came to Gaea Academy at the age of five; he and Taekwoon often came to water it after their classes. It had grown an impressive amount after a short twelve years, likely because it was a magical tree under the care of a Baet with botanokinesis.

 

Jaehwan left his Economics class with a small smile on his face. It had been a while since it had been just the two of them, Taekwoon and Jaehwan, hanging out together; ever since the addition of Wonshik to their group, they tended to do group activities. That was fine, but Jaehwan could use a nice, quiet afternoon sometimes—well, quiet for him meant the only voice he heard was his own. Even then, though, his babbling often became white noise rather than anything of significance.

 

As he was making his way down the hallway, though, Jaehwan was stopped by a call of his name. “Jaehwannie!”

 

Jaehwan turned around to see a rather tall girl dressed in a pirate costume. His soft smile widened into a more comical and outgoing one. “Kyungri noona! What are you doing here?”

 

“My teacher let us out early today for Halloween,” she answered, falling into step with him. “I was hoping to catch you before you left, actually.”

 

Jaehwan looked at her quizzically. “Really? Why, noona?”

 

She ignored his question and continued walking. “We’ll talk when we’re outside.”

 

The walked silently out into the courtyard. The courtyard was decorated with floating jack o’ lanterns and cloth ghosts; the trees were strung with festive fairy lights and glowing skulls. Kyungri led Jaehwan to one of the more secluded areas of the main courtyard. The whole time, Jaehwan was anxiously chewing on his bottom lip, for he didn’t want to keep Taekwoon waiting.

 

“What did you want to talk about, noona?” Jaehwan asked as he settled his hands into his pockets and tapped his foot impatiently. He didn’t mean to come off as rude, but he really, really wanted to go hang out with Taekwoon.

 

Kyungri clenched her fists and took a deep breath. “I’ve liked you for a long time, Jaehwannie!”

 

Jaehwan became rigid. “What?”

 

Kyungri nervously tucked a strand of her curled hair behind her ear. “I’m confessing my romantic feelings to you, Jaehwannie.”

 

“I… I know that.” Jaehwan’s fingers hit his Kyoshi Warrior headpiece as he went to ruffle his hair. “I just don’t know what to say.”

 

Kyungri awkwardly giggled. “Well, you either accept or reject my feelings.” She forced a smile.

 

Jaehwan began to play with the branches of a nearby tree. He sighed softly and forced himself to meet Kyungri’s hopeful eyes. “I’m sorry, noona,” he said. “I… I’m going to have to reject your feelings.”

 

“Oh…” Kyungri’s gaze fell to the ground, and her forced smile twitched. “Can you at least tell me why?”

 

Jaehwan was silent for a few moments before he managed to speak. “It’s… it’s not any fault of yours, noona. You’re very beautiful and very kind. I… I just have feelings for someone else. I’ve had these feelings before I met you.”

 

“That is one lucky girl.” Kyungri rubbed at her eyes. “If I had met you first, maybe things would have turned out differently.”

 

Jaehwan rubbed the back of his neck and bit his bottom lip. “Yeah, I guess.”

 

“Let me hug you.”

 

“I… Sure.”

 

Kyungri hugged Jaehwan with all of her might. He could feel all of her emotions in the hug, the affection and the sorrow and the anger and the regret. He hesitantly returned her embrace, knowing that it was the least he could do after breaking her heart.

 

“Sorry for that.” She separated from him and wiped at the tears falling from her eyes.

 

“Don’t apologize.” He patted her on the shoulder.

 

She snorted mirthlessly and moved away from him. “I’ll see you around.” She spared him no other glance as she began to walk away.

 

Jaehwan fiddled with the tassle by the right side of his face as he walked towards the friendship tree. He felt rather antsy after that encounter and just wanted to relax with Taekwoon by his side.

 

Unfortunately for him, he did not get to relax.

 

The minute he was besides Taekwoon, Taekwoon’s eyes flashed an eerie gold. Before Jaehwan realized what was happening, he was pinned against the tree by Taekwoon’s strong arms. Jaehwan struggled a bit against Taekwoon, but he was no match for Taekwoon’s animalistic strength.

 

“What are you doing?” Jaehwan cried. “Let go of me! Taekwoon hyung, snap out of it!”

 

Taekwoon’s eyes continued to glow that cold yellow color. His voice was unusually gruff and hostile. “Why do you smell weird?”

 

Jaehwan was clueless. “What?”

 

Taekwoon’s nose twitched, and he growled. “You smell like...Kyungri.”

 

“Oh. She hugged me earlier.”

 

The sun disappeared behind some clouds, and the campus became temporarily darker. Taekwoon’s yellow eyes only persisted. “Why did she hug you?”

 

Jaehwan tried to pull Taekwoon’s arms away from his shoulders. “What does it matter to you?”

 

Taekwoon snarled and sniffed angrily at Jaehwan’s chest. “You smell weird.”

 

Jaehwan tried to manipulate Taekwoon’s mood; he desperately needed Taekwoon to calm down. “Stop this, hyung,” he pleaded. “You’re not yourself today.”

 

Fortunately, Jaehwan’s powers worked. Taekwoon’s eyes faded to brown, but flecks of gold still remained. Taekwoon’s eyes widened, and he dropped Jaehwan like a hot coal. “I’m so sorry.” Taekwoon looked repulsed by himself.

 

“It’s okay, hyung…” Jaehwan fiddled with his fingers. “You weren’t in control of your body.”

 

Taekwoon sat on the ground with his knees pulled up and his face down. “But those feelings were mine. I did that.”

 

“What do you mean?” Jaehwan sat down by Taekwoon. “What do you mean by: “those feelings were mine”?”

 

Taekwoon inhaled quickly. He couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud. “I got jealous of her.”

 

Jaehwan was comparable to an owl. “What?” His brain whirled.

 

“I like you, you idiot.” Taekwoon lifted his face from his knees and stared at Jaehwan with his piercing eyes—eyes that were thankfully brown.

 

“I mean,” Taekwoon continued, “I like you more than a friend. You’re my closest friend, of course, but my feelings for you go deeper. The full moon and Halloween are messing with my brain right now, but my feelings are still real. They’re just making me more aggressive. My feelings are real. I know because I realized my love for you that day in junior year when we got free cookies. You spit out the raisins because you thought they were chocolate, and a raisin hit me in the face. I realized then and there that you were an idiot and that all I wanted was to wake up to your idiotic face for eternity.”

 

Taekwoon realized that he had just spilled his heart out to Jaehwan. “Fuck, shit, fuck!” He stood up and hunched his shoulders. “Fuck!” His eyes began to glow again.

 

“Wait, hyung, wait!” Jaehwan scrambled up quickly and grabbed Taekwoon’s shoulder. Taekwoon tensed further. “Did you really mean all that you said?”

 

Taekwoon’s golden eyes glanced briefly at Jaehwan before darting away. “Yes.”

 

Taekwoon tensed when he felt Jaehwan’s arms circle around his waist. He was about to tell Jaehwan to get off when Jaehwan began to speak.

 

“Hyung, I like you, too.” Jaehwan pressed his face into Taekwoon’s shoulder and smiled radiantly. “I think I realized that I like—no, love—you that day, too. After you threatened to kill me because I spit on your face… You offered me some of your coffee. You were so adorable. You kept saying “latte” and pushing it in my face. It made me feel so cared for. It was such a little thing. You offered me your favorite drink so that I could get the taste of raisins out of my mouth. Ever since that day, I realized just how much you showed me you cared by all the little things you do.”

 

Taekwoon’s eyes softened and brown began to swirl into the yellow. There was a deep, contented rumbling emanating from deep within Taekwoon’s chest expressing his happiness. Taekwoon’s feline side hadn’t quite left, but Jaehwan knew that the purring was caused by more than just animalistic instincts.

 

“Then…” Taekwoon loosened Jaehwan’s grip on his waist and turned around to fully face the younger male. His eyes were back to their normal warm, chocolate brown. “Will you be my boyfriend?”

 

Jaehwan’s face looked about ready to split from his wide, ecstatic grin. “I thought you’d never ask.” Jaehwan pecked Taekwoon chastely on the nose; Taekwoon nuzzled his face pleasedly against Jaehwan’s soft cheek.

  
They spent the rest of the time before seven o’clock cuddling underneath the shade of their special tree.


	7. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lock downs cause heart to hearts.

“T’was the night before—”

 

“We interrupt your regularly scheduled broadcast to bring you a live report. Forty-nine dead and sixty-three wounded in Beijing in the worst anti-Baet terrorist attack ever seen. Anti-Baet terror group, The Race, has already claimed responsibility for the—”

 

A loud beeping noise came from the television as the group watched in fear. They could hear a louder alarm from outside in the hallways.

 

“Students of Gaea Academy, this is not a drill. Get inside a building as soon as possible. We are in a precautionary lockdown. There have been no sightings of intruders outside the gates, but for your safety we are requiring everyone to stay indoors until further notice. Sorry to ruin everyone’s Halloween.”

 

The intercom sputtered off.

 

Hakyeon hugged his legs to his chest tighter. “This sucks,” he said sadly. “So many people are dead.”

 

Wonshik hesitated for a moment before wrapping an arm comfortingly around Hakyeon’s shoulders. He didn’t really know what to say, so he just remained silent.

 

The group had just finished eating their pizza dinners when they decided on watching a movie. Hakyeon placed a ban on any horror movies, so they had to make due with the spookiest non-horror movie there was. Unfortunately, they ended up being scared by the horror of reality.

 

“I guess we’re all stuck here until the lockdown is over.” Sanghyuk removed his bald cap.

 

Jaewan forced an overly cheerful smile onto his face. “Sleepover!”

 

Hakyeon was immediately on the move. “Do any of you need to shower? Need clothes?”

 

“None of us would fit your clothes, hyung,” Sanghyuk whined. “You’re too small!”

 

Hakyeon swiftly neck-chopped him. “I am not small! You’re smaller than me!”

 

Sanghyuk crossed his arms. “I’m fifteen, hyung, and I’m still only a few centimetres shorter than you. I’ll tower over you one day.”

 

Hakyeon huffed. “Whatever.”

 

“The costumes you made are actually pretty comfortable,” Wonshik chimed in. “I could sleep in these.”

 

Hakyeon rolled his eyes affectionately. “You could probably sleep in anything, you oaf.”

 

“That was one time!”

 

“I don’t understand how you could fall asleep during power control class, though. There is action going on all around you!”

 

“I don’t know. You were explaining something to me. I guess I felt so calm and relaxed that I fell asleep,” Wonshik confessed, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

 

Hakyeon flushed at the confession. “If you say so.”

 

“Uh, Hakyeon hyung, sorry for bringing this back up, but… I didn’t realize that being a Baet was so dangerous.”

 

Hakyeon gulped and looked around the room. He saw the others watching intently, gauging what he would reply to Wonshik’s comment.

 

“Since we have time, let’s play “Never Have I Ever”,” Hakyeon said. “We’ll get to know each other better this way, especially Wonshik.”

 

The whole group grumbled softly but still formed a circle on the floor.

 

“Maknae can go first.” Hakyeon pointed to Sanghyuk.

 

“Never have I ever never gotten a detention,” Sanghyuk said.

 

“Well, that’s confusing,” Hongbin commented. “So you’re saying you have gotten a detention?”

 

“What do you mean you’ve gotten detention before, Hyukkie?” Hakyeon cried, his mouth open in shock. “We would’ve known about it!”

 

Sanghyuk shrugged. “It was when I first came here. I was so bored in math that I made the teacher fall asleep. I technically got detention, but I was excused because I was new.” Sanghyuk looked around at his friends. “Put your fingers down!”

 

Hakyeon and Jaehwan each put down a finger, but Taekwoon, Wonshik, and Hongbin did not.

 

Wonshik laughed. “I got a detention for being tardy, that’s it. What about you guys?”

 

“I pushed Jaehwan off the swing set,” Taekwoon replied.

 

Jaehwan cried, “That isn’t detention! That’s a time out!”

 

“Little kid detention.” Taekwoon stared at Jaehwan, silently daring to question him further.

 

Hongbin sheepishly chuckled. “I used my metal arm to break open the vending machine.”

 

Wonshik’s eyes widened. “What? Aren’t you the headmaster’s son, though?”

 

Hakyeon clapped his hands excitedly as he remembered the event. “That just made his detention worse,” he explained. “Man, I remember your dad just yelling at you about “bad starts to high school” and all of that jazz.”

 

They continued playing until Hakyeon lost.

 

“You kids just haven’t experienced enough life yet,” he grumbled as all of his fingers were put down.

 

“You’re only eighteen, what could you have experienced, hyung?” Wonshik teased.

 

Hakyeon rubbed his neck and sighed. “Well, everyone else here knows, so I suppose you should, as well.” Hakyeon leaned heavily against the side of his bed and reached for his can of soda.

 

“I wasn’t born into a Baet family,” Hakyeon began, his voice soft and soothing as it always was when he told stories. “As far as I know, none of my relatives are Baets. And if they were...well, my parents certainly never took me to see them.”

 

Hakyeon sighed deeply and ran a his hand through his messy hair. “I apologize in advance, but I’m going to unload something that’s hurt me for thirteen years.”

 

Everyone besides Wonshik knew what Hakyeon was about to say, but they still felt the suspense and grief in the air.

 

“I guess I never realized it because I was so young, but...my parents hated Baets. I don’t know why, as they never explained why—besides their comments of “Baets are evil”. I never really paid attention to what they said. I was a kid.”

 

Hakyeon paused to palm at his watering eyes. “I feel so weak. It’s been thirteen years, and I still am not over it. They left me a few weeks after I showed signs of being a Baet. They just put me on a bus for Gaea and never came back. I was just a kid.”

 

Wonshik didn’t know what to do, so he hesitantly placed a hand on Hakyeon’s shoulder to comfort him. “Hyung…”

 

Hakyeon sniffled a bit and rubbed at his eyes. “Sorry. Well, I guess they had enough kindness to send me here so that Headmaster Lee could find me. They didn’t just leave me in a ditch or something.”

 

“Isn’t it illegal to just...do that?” Wonshik asked. “Couldn’t they get arrested?”

 

Hakyeon chuckled wryly. “We looked into that. Did you know there’s a law saying that a family, with no immediate history of magic, can be released of their custody if they send the Baet child to an appropriate care place? Isn’t that absolutely insane? What they did was in legal bounds.”

 

The room was, once again, silent. Wonshik saw the deep sorrow and pain that resonated from Hakyeon’s soul through his normally warm eyes; now that Wonshik was familiar with that particular look of hurt, he realized that it was always present in Hakyeon’s eyes, hidden under thick layers of compassion and humor. Wosnshik fervently wished that Hakyeon could have been spared from that harrowing rejection, and he vowed to never be the cause of that look on Hakyeon’s face.

 

“Well, the lock down doesn’t seem to be lifting any time soon.” Hakyeon stood up and clasped his hands together. “Why don’t we all settle down for bed, everyone? It’s nearly midnight.”

 

Moonlight had just begun to shine through the windows when Taekwoon started to yowl. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the shortish chapter! I felt it would be right to end it here...
> 
> Also, sorry for the super long time of not updating. Life decided to kick my butt with a devastating personal loss that made writing extremely painful and terrible school stress that made writing almost impossible. So...this story is kind of on a hiatus? Sort of? I hope I will have more time to write when school break comes along. Thanks for understanding!


	8. Chapter Six

To say that everyone was concerned with Taekwoon was an understatement; everyone had been filled to the brim with dread and worry since Taekwoon began his horrid yowling. Beyond his yowling, the residents of the room could hear other animalistic sounds coming from outside: screeches, howls, and shrieks.

 

“Every magical creature must be freaking out right now,” Hongbin breathed. “It’s the first time in eighteen years a full moon has happened on Halloween.”

 

“Taekwoon isn’t full werecat, though!” Jaehwan cried, panicked. “He doesn’t transform during full moons!”

 

“But don’t you feel it, too?” Hongbin asked Jaehwan. “The pull.”

 

Sanghyuk rubbed at his upper arms nervously. “You’re right. I feel super powerful right now.”

 

Jaehwan bit his lip. “We can’t just let him suffer—”

 

The intercom interrupted him and crackled out, “Students of Gaea Academy, please remain calm. You may have noticed that your magical creature friends are acting strangely right now, and you may notice that your powers are stronger. This is due to the combined effects of the full moon and Halloween. Please remain calm and do your best to control your powers. If you are within close vicinity with a magical creature friend who is experiencing problems, please do not let them leave the room. The lock down is still in effect. Thank you.”

 

“Appa must be worried about Taekwoon hyung right now,” Hongbin commented.

 

“We can’t let him leave this room,” Hakyeon commanded to the rest. They all took in the sight of Taekwoon shuddering and shaking and screaming in the corner, his eyes a yellow so pale it was almost white.

 

“Jaehwan, do you think you can try to calm him down? Maybe that will help.” Trust Hakyeon to be the level-headed leader of the group.

 

Jaehwan almost immediately draped himself over Taekwoon’s quivering form. “Please calm down,” he murmured against Taekwoon’s shoulder. Jaehwan stiffened as he heard growling from Taekwoon’s throat and felt the muscles of Taekwoon’s back stiffen. “Hakyeon hyung…”

 

Jaehwan’s warning came just in the nick of time. Hakyeon had only barely managed to stop Taekwoon before Taekwoon pounced from Jaehwan’s grasp. Taekwoon twitched in his frozen position, his eyes moving back and forth rapidly. His hair fell messily around his face, making the shadows under his eyes seem even darker against the paleness of his eyes.

 

“I guess your mood manipulation doesn’t work,” Wonshik said. “Maybe because he’s not really feeling these feelings, but the moon is making him feel this way.”

 

“That’s reasonable.” Hakyeon looked mildly surprised that he was still holding Taekwoon immobile. “Tonight really is a magical night. Normally I’d feel tired from freezing someone this long…”

 

“Yeah, I think everyone’s powers got stronger.” Hongbin rubbed his temples. “I keep seeing things...that don’t seem like they’re going to happen in the next few minutes.”

 

“I can hear the trees outside,” Jaehwan said with wonder in his voice. “I’m not too sure what they’re saying, but I just know that the trees are talking!”

 

“I feel like I don’t weigh anything, like I’m actually the air!” Sanghyuk stared blankly at his arm. “I… I actually can’t really feel anything.”

 

Wonshik nervously cracked his knuckles. “I feel like I could burn down the whole school.”

 

Suddenly, Hakyeon began to shake. “Something—Taekwoon’s doing something! I can’t hold him!”

 

Before their very eyes, Taekwoon began to shift. His muscles coiled and grew; his joints rearranged themselves; thick, black fur grew over his body. His clothes were ripped to shreds as his human body was replaced by the body of a lion. His eyes were piercingly yellow, a sharp contrast to the pitch black of his body.

 

Hakyeon stumbled and fell back, his control over Taekwon broken; thankfully, Wonshik caught Hakyeon securely before the older of two managed to hit the floor. Hakyeon slumped against Wonshik, feeling more stunned than anything.

 

Taekwoon growled at all of them menacingly before crashing through the window. In a school full of magical creations, these windows were surprisingly fragile glass; this allowed Taekwoon to pass through the glass without much injury.

 

“Taekwoon hyung!” Jaehwan yelled. He began to run towards the window, but Hongbin stopped him. “I’ve got to catch him!”

 

“We’re going together.” Hakyeon rose from his slumped position. He gave a small smile to Wonshik to thank the younger male for his help. “The window just got broken, so I think the security room will be notified. If you go now, you probably won’t catch up to Taekwoon in time before security catches you. We can’t let you go by yourself.”

 

Hakyeon turned to look at Sanghyuk. “Can you teleport all of us outside?”

 

“I think I can teleport whomever I hold hands with,” Sanghyuk replied. “I don’t want to risk any more.”

 

“Okay then. You teleport Hongbin, and I’ll phase Jaehwan and Wonshik through the walls. Do not teleport any farther than outside of this building.” Hakyeon saw Jaehwan open his mouth to protest. “Jaehwan, I know what you’re going to say. We’ll get out of this building just as fast.”

 

Before Jaehwan could say anything, Hakyeon grabbed his and Wonshik’s hands and turned them all intangible. “See you soon, Hyukkie.” Hakyeon led the two younger males through the wall, his powers making them pass through the solid material seamlessly.

 

Sanghyuk faced Hongbin and clasped his hands tightly. “Make sure you hold on tight, okay, hyung?”

 

Hongbin managed a smile, one dimple showing prominently on his right cheek. “Teleport us already, brat.”

 

* * *

 

Taekwoon was running, running, running.

 

He felt a pull. He knew, he knew, he knew, he knew, that he should’ve stayed with the humans who smelled warm and familiar and the one human who felt like sunlight through a canopy of leaves, like home; the pull, though, he couldn’t bear to ignore. The pull was an urgency, an instinct, a _need_.

 

Taekwoon ran and ran and ran. He heard the wings of harpies, the haunting voices of sirens, the howls of wolves; he heard the collective cacophony of all the magical creatures in the school rising up as one crazed, frenzied unit.

 

Taekwoon felt when he neared the gates. He knew that he could open them, what with his special authority as a college student… He knew that he shouldn’t open them, for, if he did, all of the hysterical magical creatures would follow suit. But Taekwoon was finding it harder to know the difference between what he knew and what he felt, and he felt that he needed to open the gates.

 

So open the gates he did.

 

He was out, he was out, but the pull still tugged at him. He ran and ran and ran, feeling the night air cooling his hide and the moon making his coat gleam. He saw his destination up ahead: Caimi Forest. He charged rapidly towards the dark shadows of the forest.

 

Once in the forest, he felt the pull sharpen. He heard roaring very, very, very close to him; roaring that sounded very, very, very familiar. He also heard a sharp, high-pitched noise that was also very familiar, but he ignored it in favor of the roaring. He ran as fast as his legs could take him.

 

After what seemed like hours, Taekwoon came to the source of the roaring: a whole group of werecats like him, from lions to leopards to tigers. Three of the lionesses—the only white lionesses of the group—looked up as he approached.

 

All three sets of pale, icy eyes met Taekwoon’s pale, golden eyes.

 

* * *

 

“He went into the forest!” Jaehwan shrieked, “Hakyeon hyung! We need to hurry!”

 

“I know, I know!” Hakyeon gritted his teeth. “Hyukkie, are you doing all right?”

 

Sanghyuk gave a small thumbs-up. “Yeah, carrying everyone on wind is less tiring than teleporting, and it’s a lot safer, too. Just… I might need to draw energy from someone later.”

 

“Take it from me. I feel like I could burn the forest down with how powerful I feel,” Wonshik told Sangyhuk.

 

“Try not to burn the forest down.” Hongbin patted the solid cushion of air that was currently transporting all of them quickly to the forest. “Don’t think even Hakyeon hyung can put it out.”

 

“Don’t underestimate my amazing water abilities,” Hakyeon huffed.

 

“Oh! We’re catching up to him!” Jaehwan whisper-yelled, pointing to the darkness in front of them.

 

“We are?” asked Hongbin. “I can’t see anything.”

 

“Yeah, I can’t see anything either. The forest is too dark.” Sanghyuk made their air cushion still. “Jaehwan hyung, how can you see where Taekwoon hyung is?”

 

“Echolocation,” Jaehwan responded. “And…I hear some roaring, too. Can you guys hear it?”

 

The group abandoned their chatter and listened. Once they stopped talking, they could hear the faint roaring clearly.

 

“He must’ve headed there,” Hakyeon said and looked to Jaehwan for confirmation. Jaehwan nodded. “Okay, Hyukkie, can you take us there, even though you can’t see?”

 

“I—I don’t think he’ll need to see.” Jaehwan looked visibly shaken. “The trees...the trees just said they’ll make sure we get there.”

 

The wind began to carry them once more. “I trust you, hyung. We’d better not crash into anything.” Sanghyuk glanced at Wonshik. “Wonshik hyung, I’m going to have to draw some energy from you now.”

 

“Take it,” Wonshik said. “I think I’ll seriously catch on fire if I don’t release this energy.”

 

True to Jaehwan’s word, the trees led the group faithfully. Even in the darkness of the forest, they didn’t even come close to crashing into anything.

 

Soon, the group came upon a moonlit clearing. The roaring had since stopped, for the huge group of werecats in the middle of the clearing had all paused.

 

The group saw Taekwoon immediately; he was the only black lion there. He was staring intently at a trio of white lionesses, looking somewhat confused. He broke eye contact with the three, though, when the group neared. The winds carrying the group left, leaving the five of them to stand on the floor.

 

“Ah, the six are finally here.”

 

Wonshik looked around, surprised. “Who...who spoke?”

 

“The trees,” Jaehwan replied, his voice breathy. “You...you can hear them?”

 

“Everyone can hear us tonight.” The voice seemed to surround the clearing. “It is important that everyone listens, however.”

 

“Can...can Taekwoon hyung understand you?” Jaehwan asked; he was the one most comfortable with the trees, after all.

 

The leaves rustling sounded like chuckles. “Oh, we forgot about the werecreatures. Let us try our best.”

 

The leaves rustled again, and the branches shifted; the moon became less visible as the trees covered its brilliance. “Mother Lunar does not enjoy being covered, but she makes an exception tonight, as she did eighteen years ago.”

 

The group of werecreatures in the clearing all began to shift. Within moments, there was a strange gathering of nude beings in the clearing, all looking somewhat disgruntled. Taekwoon was the most perturbed of them all, and he immediately moved to cover his private bits.

 

“Jaehwan…do you have anything I can use to cover my lower half?”

 

Jaehwan blushed at hearing Taekwoon’s thought-message and shrugged off his jacket and outside shirt, leaving only a thin undershirt on. He walked stiffly to Taekwoon, being careful to avoid the masses of naked bodies. “Here you go. Um… I’m really glad you’re okay.” Jaehwan ran back to where the others were standing.

 

“Feels awfully strange to be the only people wearing clothes,” Wonshik mused. “I feel like taking my shirt off.”

 

Hakyeon smacked the boy on the shoulder. “Why in the world would you want to do that?”

 

“Conformity.” That comment earned another smack for Wonshik.

 

“I assume the six are ready to listen?”

 

Everyone perked up at hearing the trees speak once more.

 

“Yes, we are,” Hakyeon said confidently. “Thank you for your patience.”

 

“It is no problem, little will,” the trees replied, sounded amused.

 

Hakyeon furrowed his brows. “Will?”

 

“Oh, yes. We forgot to give you all a proper greeting. For that, we apologize.” The trees seemed to sway and bend before them.

 

“Welcome to Caimi Forest. It has been a long time since this clearing has seen our Will, King, Queen, Hearth, Eye, and Youth.”

 

 There was a silence.

 

"Wait, what?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes...this is terribly cliche... *coughs* But hopefully I can do something more unique with it? Then again, I'm biased because I love these types of stories with chosen ones and stuff...so... sorry haha...
> 
> Sorry for going a whole month without updating! Unfortunately, that's probably going to be very common. School is hectic, life is hectic... Anyone know how to not fail Calculus? Math is the bane of my existence...
> 
> ALSO, do you guys think it would be helpful to have a glossary of magical terms and just get rid of the student files?


	9. Chapter Seven

Hakyeon was beyond perplexed. The trees had called him “The Will”—and then they had called the rest of them funny names, too.

 

“Without water, life cannot be. Without the will, humans cannot be.”

 

“That’s awfully deep, but, could you explain to us what you mean by all of this?” Hakyeon didn’t know how Jaehwan could deal with the cryptic ways of trees.

 

“Ah...yes. Yes. Of course, you were not alive to see the beginning. Come, sit down before us, for this story is one not easily told.”

 

The six males sat near the trees, while the group of werecats stayed slightly farther back.

 

“A few years ago...well, to you, it was a long time ago… Baets and Edes and magical creatures came to be. Though they lived in separate communities, they lived very closely with one another. There was hardly a human with unmixed blood.

 

Still, fear and power are two forces too powerful to die forever. Edes came to fear those with powers greater than theirs; Baets and magical creatures began to take advantage of their power over Edes. A great divide began, and...around...perhaps five centuries ago… you six were born.

 

Hakyeon, your predecessor was Wilna, The Will; Wonshik, Aidan, The Hearth; Jaehwan, Reina, The Queen; Taekwoon, Alaric, The King; Hongbin, Horatia, The Eye; Sanghyuk, Leanne, The Youth.”

 

“Wait...those names...are European,” Hongbin commented.

 

“And some of them are girl names,” added Sanghyuk.

 

The trees seemed to root down further into the ground. “Peace knows no gender.”

 

Jaehwan wrinkled his eyebrows in confusion. “Does...does that mean we are their reincarnations?”

 

The trees rustled again. “Perhaps so, perhaps not. Human souls are strange things.”

 

“Wait...did you say five hundred years ago? 1500s Europe...that was during the time of the witch trials!” Hakyeon exclaimed.

 

“Alaric… Alaric, the founder of the Ede-Baet-Creatures Peace Treaty?” Wonshik remembered that piece of history from his class.

 

“Indeed he was. As you all must know, the supposed witches were actually Baets and magical creatures just like yourself. We will tell you the story that you have surely heard in your history classes, but you will surely not know the true happenings.

 

You all know of Alaric and his monumental work in global peace treaties. But the true tale of love and sacrifice has been lost throughout time; only the trees have preserved this story of love and friendship. Now, does anyone recall Alaric’s sister?”

 

“The history books say that her name was lost and that Alaric was never heard saying it,” Hakyeon breathed. “I always wondered about that.”

 

“It is as expected for you to wonder about her name,” the trees said wisely. “You are, after all, the reincarnation of his sister.”

 

“So… Alaric’s sister was Wilna?” Hakyeon asked.

 

The trees replied, “Yes. Twins, you two were.”

 

“Was… Was Wilna a Baet?”

 

“Indeed she was. She had impressive control over the waters—well, as impressive as one’s powers can get while receiving no formal training.

 

Wilna and Alaric lived in a small town in… Germany, we believe. We are not too familiar with human geography. Though Alaric tried to protect Wilna, her powers were eventually seen by townsfolk. She was to be burned at the stake the next day.”

 

“Is that why her name is lost?” Wonshik found it rather sad that Hakyeon’s former incarnation—or something of the sort—had been forgotten in time.

 

“Oh, no. That comes later on. Oh, no. Wilna was saved by you, Aidan.” The trees seemed to chuckle again. “Oh, the strange twists of human lives always intrigue us. You, the executioner’s son, walked straight through the flames and rescued Wilna. You took her to the forest to hide—Alaric, of course, followed.

 

That was when you met the mother, the queen of all us trees. We now know her as Reina, but before she met you three, she did not have a name. She simply was.”

 

“Reina?” Jaehwan’s eyes widened. “I was… I mean, my previous incarnation was the queen of all trees?”

 

“Reina was the first tree nymph ever born,” the trees affirmed. “We, the trees, did not understand the ways of humans and other beings until she came forth.

 

Reina took in and helped you three. Over the years, she learned to use her abilities to fight against humans who tried to destroy her forest; she taught Aidan and Wilna how to use their powers.

 

Soon, Horatia, a seer, came to the forest asking for help. She took you four to rescue a young Baet by the name of Leanne. After that, the six were united, Wilna, Alaric, Aidan, Reina, Horatia, and Leanne.

 

You six began to rescue Baets who were to be burned at the stake. Though you built up quite an impressive army, far too many Baets and magical creatures were still killed.

 

One night, you six were caught off guard. It was a new moon; new moons always suck out the magic in the air. The Edes caught you six and threatened you all to hanging. Alaric, however, was released due to his status as an Ede.

 

As you all know, he led the rebellion with an army of Baets by his side. You also all know that he won the battle... but he lost so much. In the confusion of the battle, Wilna, Aidan, Reina, Horatia, and Leanne were killed. They were not killed easily, no, but they were killed; they had been drugged and weakened before the battle even started.”

 

“Why do history books leave that out?” Hongbin was disconcerted over the lack of mention of five important deaths.

 

The trees sighed as a great feeling of melancholy overcame the group. “So many names are forgotten in their death. Alaric was a secretive man, and he did what he felt would honor them best. Their blood wrote the first treaty between Baets, Edes, and magical creatures ever to exist. It is remarkable that it is the first, but it is also rather sad that there was ever a need for one.

 

As we said before, Alaric was a secretive man; he spent most of his time in public working on more treaties throughout the globe. He did not often live in the grand house in Germany most Baets like to tour; he liked to spend most of his resting time in forests. He kept only one apprentice. Before Alaric died, he told his apprentice to always listen to the trees and that the six would be back if there ever was a need again.”

 

The trees, though they lacked eyes, seemed to pierce through all of their souls.

 

“That is where you six come in.”

 

Sanghyuk shook his head wildly. “Not to be rude, but this is too crazy. We’re supposed to be the reincarnation of this legendary six that I’ve never heard about? This is insane.”

 

 The three white lions from earlier took hesitant steps forward—they were all in their human forms, but their alabaster skin and pale blue eyes were a testament to their animal forms.

 

“With all due respect, great ones,” the tallest one said, “Is this the prophecy that was given eighteen years ago today?”

 

“Indeed it is,” the trees answered. “It is the one which took your brother away from you.”

 

“Taekwoon,” the middle one whispered.

 

Taekwoon perked up. “Me?”

 

The three girls ran up to and embraced Taekwoon. “Mother and Father ran away with you.”

 

“Mother and Father? But…” Taekwoon gulped. “I was left alone.”

 

Hakyeon, Jaehwan, and Hongbin flanked Taekwoon’s sides almost immediately; Sanghyuk and Wonshik were not far behind.

 

Hakyeon was quick with his motherly leadership skills. “Taekwoon was abandoned by these so-called parents.” His eyes turned a steel grey. “What are you trying to do here?”

 

“Oh, there is no need for your protectiveness, Will,” the trees said to Hakyeon. “These are the King’s sisters.” If the trees had eyes, they would have twinkled in mirth. “Though you were one of his sisters before as well.”

 

“Mother and Father took you with them when they left the clan,” the shortest girl told Taekwoon. “A prophecy foretold that the King of Baets and Weres born to this forest would bring about an era of destruction. Our parents were the only mixed creature couple in the forest, and when you were born male… They knew they had to hide you.”

 

The trees rustled. “The prophecy does not translate to that. It...it translates to…” The trees struggled to translate.

 

The same girl crossed her arms. “With all due respect, oh great ones, but that is what the prophecy was translated to eighteen years ago. ‘The King of Baets and Weres will bring about an era of destruction; only the Queen can nurse the wounds. The zephyr will bring about great change; a forest must burn. The puppetmaster must cut strings before he may gain control; the prophet must accept the past and present to save the future.”

 

The trees shook slightly. “That is not what we meant to say. Whoever translated our words that day did not do very well. Queen—Jaehwan—please translate for us.”

 

Everyone paused to hear the forest go silent. It was a sort of full silence, though; there was something just above or below or all around them that seemed to have sound, but there was nothing to be heard.

 

Jaehwan hesitated before telling the group, “Well, it’s mostly okay… But a more accurate translation would be: The King of Baets and Weres will be born on the eve of an era of destruction; only the Queen can nurse the wounds. The youth will bring about a change with the winds; a forest burns in order to grow stronger. The will must cut strings before he may truly be free to lead; the eye must open to the past and present, lest it close to the future.”

 

“Why do prophecies always have to sound so ambiguous and lame?” Sanghyuk complained.

 

“You translate, then,” Jaehwan whined back.

 

“That is definitely more accurate, thank you, Queen.” The trees almost bowed to Jaehwan. “And, as you can hear… You six are part of the prophecy.”

 

“You mean to say that… My parents ran away from this forest… all because of a mistranslation?” Taekwoon’s eyes glowed. “Who translated the first prophecy?”

 

“That woman has passed, Taekwoon,” the tallest of the girls said. She reached out a hand as if to pat him reassuringly on the back, but she stopped. “But… she has still done you harm. You have missed out on your family life. Do you want to come back and live in the forest with us?”

 

Taekwoon and Jaehwan exchanged quick, worried glances. “Let’s discuss it a bit,” Taekwoon said to his sisters.

 

The trees bristled. “See to it that you discuss briefly, for the new day is almost upon us.”

 

Hakyeon looked up to the sky and saw that the trees were right. “Oh man, we’re going to get in so much trouble when we get back to school,” he half-joked.

 

“Ugh, I have a Chem midterm,” Wonshik groaned and leaned most of his weight onto Hakyeon. Hakyeon stumbled under his friend’s weight.

 

“You’re heavy; get off me.” Hakyeon attempted to wrest Wonshik off of him.

 

“Heavy with the burden of junior year!” Wonshik simply leaned more weight onto Hakyeon. That was the wrong move; Hakyeon couldn’t hold Wonshik and himself up, especially since the extra weight was only coming from his left side, and he and Wonshik tumbled to the floor.

 

“Disgusting,” Hongbin commented to the pile on the floor.

 

Jaehwan quickly whipped out his cell phone and took a picture of the two boys on the floor. “Blackmail material!” he sang.

 

Sanghyuk hurled himself on top of the pile, effectively making both Hakyeon and Wonshik lose their breaths. “I’m sleepy,” he yawned.

 

"You couldn't sleep on the floor or on the air like a normal person?" grumbled Wonshik. "You're heavy."

 

“We can go home now,” Taekwoon told the group as he walked toward them.

 

Jaehwan looked at Taekwoon with a strange look in his eyes. “You’re not staying with your family?”

 

Taekwoon shook his head. “I can visit them when I want. This might sound cheesy... but you guys are my family.”

 

Jaehwan smiled.

 

Hakyeon, from his place underneath Wonshik and Sanghyuk, wheezed, “That’s so adorable, Taekwoonie! Now, please, get these oafs off of me.”

 

Taekwoon chuckled and used his strength to pry both Wonshik and Sanghyuk off of Hakyen at once. “Let’s get back to school before the campus security catches us.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, ever since that chapter with Seokjin... I was like, okay, I'll check out BTS more. And...I'm not a huge fan, but uh. My two biases are Taehyung and Seokjin OTL it's just my karma LOLOLOL Oh wells. Guh but I really love their song Outro: House of Cards. But V's Stigma is always going to have a special place in my heart... (Also, if you like high school au's, then feel free to check out my new fic, Nothing Like Glee! It's a show choir au because uh...I really like show choir?? hahaha...I updated this fic because I updated that one. They won't always have the same schedule, though.)


	10. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group is forced to move dorms.

Unfortunately, campus security caught them.

 

 “What were you kids thinking?” the head of security, Kangin, scolded them. His face was red, but he was clearly holding back the brunt of his anger.

 

Hakyeon stepped up to explain their situation. “Taekwoon turned into a full-sized werelion—for the first time ever—and crashed through our dorm window. Those windows really should be more than just glass, by the way. And, well, we had to go rescue him, since campus security didn’t get to him.”

 

The last remark was a tad disrespectful, but, with Hakyeon being the person he was, Kangin disregarded it. “You guys are still in serious trouble. Headmaster Lee wants to see you all in his office, now.”

 

Hongbin’s face was one of defeat. “Let’s just go, then.”

 

Kangin and another guard escorted the six students through the main office building and into the elevator. Wonshik consciously felt the fire licking underneath his skin, but he could also feel the suffocating feeling of a restrictor spell working in the elevator.

 

When the elevator reached the third floor, it stopped and opened to let the students out. Headmaster Lee, Hongbin’s father, was standing in wait outside of his office door.

 

Rather than burst out into anger, though, he simply sighed deeply. “It’s hardly been two months into the school year.”

 

The headmaster let the six come into the office and dismissed the guards. The enchanted chair facing the headmaster’s desk split into six separate chairs to accommodate the six trouble-making students.

 

As they all settled into their seats, Taekwoon sent out a thought-message to the rest of the group. “Are we going to tell him about what the trees told us?”

 

Everyone looked slightly apprehensive, but Hakyeon nodded. “The whole forest was told, anyways,” he answered aloud.

 

Headmaster Lee’s eyebrow arched up. “Then I can assume that I will be told, too?”

 

Hakyeon took a deep breath and began to tell Headmaster Lee what the trees had told them in the forest. Though Hakyeon had grown up with Headmaster Lee around, he still found the man rather intimidating. It might have been from the trauma of his youth, but he found that he couldn’t quite warm up to most adults, no matter how long he spent time with them—especially with a man like Headmaster Lee, who had a face for his family and a face for his school.

 

After finishing the story, Hakyeon fell silent and sat stiffly in his chair. Headmaster Lee and the rest of the students were equally as silent.

 

“So, you guys claim that the trees told you that you guys are this chosen six that most of the world has never heard of?” Headmaster Lee’s tone was carefully flat, not a trace of skepticism or incredulity in it.

 

“Yes.” Everyone was appalled when Wonshik answered; after all, the boy had just entered the school. “And I don’t believe the trees would lie to us, sir.”

 

Headmaster Lee finally showed emotion: he smiled. “Well, of course not. Those trees tell it like it is.”

 

Everyone in the room released the metaphorical breaths they were holding in.

 

“As mad as I am that you guys could’ve gotten hurt… I’m just glad that you made it back. But this tree prophecy… I’m afraid it’ll also get you guys hurt, too.” Headmaster Lee rose from his seat. “And that’s why we’re going to have put every one of you on closer watch.”

 

“What?” sputtered Hongbin. “Appa, you can’t just do that!”

 

“I can, and I will.” Headmaster Lee snapped his fingers, summoning the doors to his office to open. “Kangin! Shindong! Please get more guards. We are going to move the underclassmen into the college dorms.”

 

“Why are you doing all of this?” Jaehwan asked, somewhat desperately.

 

Headmaster Lee replied, “I’m doing this to make sure all of you are safe. The recent tragedy in Beiijing caused our precautionary lockdown; the tree prophecy seems to be foreshadowing something pretty dangerous. I just want to keep you all safe.”

 

Hongbin’s eyes were sad when he looked at his father. “Appa...you know that if this is a prophecy, then it is fate. We cannot fight our fate, because we make decisions that lead up to it.”

 

“Well, I might as well try to delay this fate.” Headmaster Lee smiled a sad, watery smile. “You are the only child in the family to born with your great-grandmother’s sight, even if it is limited. Let the rest of us delude ourselves for a little while longer.”

 

And with those words, Headmaster Lee closed the office doors.

 

* * *

 

“I guess the bright side of this is that we’re dorming really close to each other!” Hakyeon tried to bring the mood of the group up.

 

Jaehwan smiled brightly, his pearly whites shining. “Yeah! I can be super close to my Taekwoonie hyung!”

 

A deep flush spread across Taekwoon’s cheeks; a matching one also rose onto Jaehwan’s when he realized what he had just revealed.

 

Hakyeon paused and turned to give Jaehwan and Taekwoon both incredulous looks. “Well, that’s a new development!” He gathered both of them as best as he could into his arms and gave them a big hug. “Congratulations, you two!”

 

“Should Hakyeon hyung move out of the dorm now and share with someone else?” Sanghyuk teased. “I’m sure this couple would like a room all to themselves!”

 

“I’m older, so I should get priority to my own room...but I’d make an exception for you two cuties!” Hakyeon squeals and pinches the thoroughly embarrassed couple on their cheeks.

 

Jaehwan laughed boisterously, despite the extremely red glow of his cheeks. “I think it’s too early to be moving in with each other, hyung.”

 

“Nonsense, nonsense! You two have known each other since you two were in diapers. I’ll just quickly move out of my room and share with the other children.”

 

“Why don’t I ask my dad if we can all share one big dorm room?” Hongbin suggested. “It’s the least he can do after placing us on this weird ‘watch’ thing.”

 

“That’d actually be great,” Wonshik commented. “I really want to get to know you guys better.”

 

Hakyeon smiled radiantly and patted Wonshik on the head (somewhat awkwardly, as Wonshik was taller than he). “That’s adorable. Let’s all room together!”

 

Hongbin walked over to one of the stealth guards. “Leeteuk hyung, do you mind asking my father if we can share one big dorm? It might make your job easier.”

 

Leeteuk chuckled a bit and ruffled Hongbin’s hair. “Of course I will! You kids are so cute.” Leeteuk waved his hand in a circular motion, making a glowing image of wings appear. He stepped up to the wings and disappeared.

 

Wonshik laughed, “I keep forgetting that elevators are almost useless when you have the power to teleport.”

 

Sanghyuk grinned cheekily and teleported two feet away from his original position. “Walking is pretty useless, too. The rest of you need to catch up.”

 

“Hey! No wonder you still have a lot of baby fat!” Hakyeon grabbed one of Sanhyuk’s cheeks. “You need to exercise more!”

 

Sanghyuk half-heartedly swatted at Hakyeon’s hand. “Hyung! I’m a growing boy! I’ll lose the baby fat eventually!”

 

“Not if you keep teleporting everywhere!”

 

At that moment, Leeteuk appeared in the room. “Teleporting is very efficient, but you should listen to Hakyeon here. Exercise is good for you!” Leeteuk smiled brightly at the young students. “Headmaster Lee said that you all can move into one dorm together. Let me go ahead and Changmin so he can charm your room.”

 

Once again, Leeteuk disappeared, but he quickly appeared again with a disgruntled Changmin in tow. Changmin sighed and moved his hands in jerky, but coordinated, movements. “Just because I can make things bigger and my nickname is ‘Max’...” he grumbled under his breath (everyone still heard him, loud and clear, though.) “All right, kiddos, the room is bigger now. From the outside it looks like a normal dorm, but inside there are three rooms and two bathrooms.”

 

“Thank you, Changmin hyung!” Hakyeon clapped his hands excitedly. “There is so much more room now!”

 

Changmin smiled awkwardly before turning to Leeteuk. Leeteuk opened another of his “angel” portals and sent Changmin through it. “Why don’t you boys settle in?” Leeteuk said to the students. “Wait, I see that most of you don’t have your luggage. Let’s go get it now. Hakyeon, Taekwoon, please stay in your rooms.” Leeteuk called to the other stealth guards, “Heechul, take Jaehwan to the senior dorm to get his stuff. Jaejoong, take Wonshik and Hongbin to the junior dorm to get their stuff. Junsu, take Sanghyuk to the sophomore dorm to get his stuff. I’ll stay here and watch over Hakyeon and Taekwoon.”

 

Heechul mock-sighed and walked over to Jaehwan. “C’mon, let’s go, up and at ‘em.” Heechul and Jaehwan soon disappeared in gust of black mist. Soon, Jaejoong, Wonshik, and Hongbin disappeared into a black mist as well.

 

Junsu looked at Sanghyuk. “Little known fact, I’m one of the only stealth guards who does not have the ability to teleport. But, I saw your little show earlier. I trust you to not teleport me to some place in the Arctic.”

 

Sanghyuk just grinned a shit-eating grin, held Junsu’s outstretched hand, and teleported them away.

 

Hakyeon turned to Taekwoon after the others had left. “We better enjoy this dorm with just you and me before they come back,” he joked.

 

Taekwoon and Leeteuk both smiled dryly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Happy Lunar New Year~ I tried to get this update out ASAP, but I have finals this coming week as well as the first show choir competition of the season, and yeah it's going to get busy. Hopefully this update doesn't disappoint! Also, if anyone is interested in reading some cool fics, I've decided to list them out here :D
> 
> Of Lap Sitting and Sexy Nightwear by jeodoboleo: An adorable Keo fic! The title is dirtier than the actual fic...the fic is super cute!  
> Kim Taehyung, Divine Mess-Up by StepThreeFour: A really cool supernatural Taejin fic! I'm 100% biased toward supernatural and fantasy, so. I mean.  
> Afternoon Delight by starkun: Idk an overall cute and sweet Navi fic??? Kinda hurt my heart?? Reread it often??  
> Dye by starlitskies: uhhh I also reread this fic a lot. It's adorable! I love Navi and I love coloring my hair, so, I mean. 
> 
> Those are all the ones I can think of right now ^_^ Hopefully you guys can find joy in these stories~~~


	11. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They adjust to life in the dorms.

Their old roommates, though at first a bit confused, did not question them much. Kyungsoo had simply wished Wonshik good luck, which Wonshik did appreciate.

 

“Home sweet home,” Hongbin commented sarcastically when the two juniors walked into their new dorm.

 

Wonshik shrugged and set his stuff down by Hakyeon’s bed. He was determined to make the best out of the situation. “On the bright side, we’re not staying with strangers. We’re staying with our friends.”

 

Hongbin groaned and plopped onto Hakyeon’s bed. “I know, I know. But still. I like the freedom to have some alone time. Now I’m just a few floors away from my dad, and just a wall away from everyone else.”

 

Wonshik suddenly felt a twinge guilty and a bit curious. “Have...have you ever left these grounds?”

 

Hongbin sighed and hugged Hakyeon’s pillows. “Not really. I’ve never been into any mixed territories, let alone majority-Ede territories. I’ve only been to Baet territories. My father is kind of...paranoid.”

 

“Maybe we can all travel after this fiasco is over,” Wonshik commented, picking up his bag. “But right now, let’s go find our rooms.”

 

Hongbin got off of Hakyeon’s bed and picked up his bag. Hongbin stared at the two doors and squinted. “Okay, so the door closest to Hakyeon hyung’s bed is the bathroom door, and the door closest to Taekwoon hyung’s bed leads to a room that...Sanghyuk is currently in.”

 

Wonshik gave Hongbin a puzzled look. “I thought you didn’t have x-ray vision.”

 

Hongbin chuckled and pushed open the door that led to Sanghyuk. “I think it’s the power of the full moon and Halloween. I just pictured myself walking through each door, and my mind showed me what the immediate future would be depending on which door I chose.”

 

Sanghyuk looked up from his DS player as the two junior students came into his room. “I know you guys might play the seniority card, but I was here first, so, this is my room.”

 

Wonshik ignored Sanghyuk. “Where are Hakyeon hyung and Taekwoon hyung?”

 

Sanghyuk saved his game and put the console away. “Headmaster Lee wanted to talk to them more, since they’re the...eldest.”

 

Hongbin scrunched up his eyebrows and grumbled, “Just because they’re a few years older than us…” He then turned to Sanghyuk and gave him a quizzical look. “Wait, why do you want this room?”

 

Sanghyuk pointed in front of him. “This is the other room with a bathroom attached to it. The last room doesn’t have a bathroom attached to it.”

 

Wonshik and Hongbin stared at each other for a brief two seconds before both scrambled for the second bed in the room. They both smashed their foreheads together and fell on their butts onto the floor.

 

“Fight! Fight! Fight!” Sanghyuk cheered.

 

Wonshik jumped up from the ground and clung onto the bed with all of his might. “You can’t make me move!”

 

Hongbin’s arms turned to steel as he gripped onto Wonshik’s ankles. “You can’t outpower me!”

 

Wonshik just clung on tighter. He focused on not letting the pull from his ankles pull the rest of his body down.

 

“Ouch!” Hongbin let go of Wonshik’s ankles quickly. “Your ankles are hot!” The steel receded from Hongbin’s arms to reveal his reddened palms.

 

“Sorry,” Wonshik apologized sheepishly. “I’m still not great at controlling my powers.”

 

Hongbin huffed in annoyance and stood up. “Fine! I’ll take the other room.”

 

Wonshik felt immediately guilty. “No, it’s okay! I can take the other room.”

 

Hongbin perked up. “Thanks, buddy!” Hongbin quickly jumped onto the bed and snuggled up with the pillows. “I’m really tired. I’m probably going to go to sleep now. You should go settle into your room.”

 

Wonshik made a noise that was a mix between a sigh and a laugh and left to settle into the other room.

 

* * *

The four youngest quickly grew used to staying in the college dorms. It was a bit strange to see each other before breakfast, but they ended up bonding more as friends.

 

Everyone in the dorm room learned of Wonshik’s terribly loud snoring, and commended Jaehwan for putting up with the earth-shaking rumbling.

 

Surprisingly, there hadn’t been any bathroom mishaps thus far. Of course, it had only been a few days, so something was bound to happen sooner or later.

 

After class one day, Wonshik ran into the dorm and into the first bathroom he could get to. He didn’t realize someone was showering until after he finished flushing the toilet.

 

Hakyeon coughed from behind the shower curtains. “That was interesting.”

 

Wonshik nearly choked as he applied soap on his hands. “Uh...sorry. I really needed to pee.”

 

Hakyeon giggled awkwardly. “I didn’t see anything, if it makes you feel better. This shower curtain is really opaque.”

 

“I mean, it wouldn’t really matter if you saw anything. I’m pretty proud of everything—”

 

Water flowed from the sink’s tap and splashed Wonshik in the face.

 

Hakyeon laughed from behind the curtain; he was obviously the one who made the water move. “That’s my way of telling you to shut up.”

 

Wonshik wiped his hands and face on the towel hanging by the sink. “Okay, okay!” he chortled, “I’ll just be leaving now.”

 

When Wonshik closed the bathroom door and began to head to his room, he realized that Jaehwan was blocking his path.

 

Wonshik blinked. “Uh, hi there.”

 

Jaehwan had a mischievous smirk on his face that only spelled trouble. “Let’s go back to our room and talk a bit.”

 

Wonshik felt downright confused, but he complied without complaint. They both settled onto their beds, the door to their room closed.

 

Jaehwan’s eyes were curious. “Wonshik...do you like Hakyeon hyung?”

 

Wonshik felt his heart pound even faster. He didn’t really have to think before he answered, “Uh… I… I think so.”

 

Jaehwan’s eyes became wide with shock. “I can’t believe you actually admitted it without a fight!”

 

Wonshik raised his eyebrow. “Uh, you thought I was going to fight you? And you didn’t prepare to fight back?”

 

“Why would I need to fight back against someone as weak and puny as you?”

 

Wonshik punched Jaehwan jokingly on the arm. “Weak and puny? Me? Have you looked in a mirror lately?”

 

“Why would I look into a mirror when I can look into Taekwoon hyung’s eyes?” Jaehwan laughed.

 

“You’re so gross,” Wonshik groaned.

 

“You’re just jealous,” Jaehwan shot back goodnaturedly.

 

“You guys are too gross to be jealous of,” Wonshik chuckled and pulled out some homework from his bookbag.

 

Really, Wonshik was happy that he had the opportunity to relax and joke around a bit. The events in the forest seemed far away, and he was once again a normal teenager. He wasn’t sure how long the peace would last, but he was glad that he could, once again, joke around about crushes and tease friends about their mushiness. For those moments, Wonshik felt every bit as young as he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for like...the month or so long wait. This chapter is kinda filler-y, but I do want more development of their relationships to happen, so. If anyone has any suggestions/requests for what they can do for bonding, I will definitely consider them as long as they don't interfere with my plot plans! The next chapter probably won't come out for a while, too, since...life is busy. I'm procrastinating right now by posting this, haha!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope my first VIXX fanfic is okay :) Also...apologies for character bios being the first chapter.


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